The Resilience of Time
by Mnsk
Summary: Before his death, Nagato destroys his Rinnegan to keep it out of certain dangerous hands. Infuriated, Uchiha Obito actives a legendary seal that resets time and all its events, but he didn't count on Konoha's Orange Ninja remembering everything. Time travel on an epic scale. GEN, no bashing. Completed.
1. The Loss of the Rinnegan

**Chapter 1 – The Loss of the Rinnegan**

Deep within the forests of Hi no Kuni, Uzumaki Naruto stood in front of the man who called himself Pein, and slowly watched the life bleed out of him. He felt a mixture of relief and sadness. He was relieved that he was going to have his precious friends back, but saddened that this brother by circumstance who he had only just met would have to be the sacrifice.

"Thank you," he said softly. His fingers tightened around Ero-Sennin's book.

"It is you we must thank," the hauntingly beautiful kunoichi standing beside him smiled softly and a paper flower shifted in her strange blue hair, "we are happy to have met you, Naruto." With that Konan turned back to her former teammate, watching the mix of emotions that passed over his face.

Unknown to them, Nagato felt dread rise up within him. He thought of the eyes that had both helped and destroyed him. Once he died, the doujutsu would be taken. _He will come for me. _He looked at the blond boy standing in front of him with silent gratitude in his eyes, and thought of another, masked person_._ Then he turned to look at his beautiful partner, who meant everything in the world to him._ If he takes it, it will be over for both of them. _

"Go."

That was all the warning he gave. The boy looked confused, but Konan acted. She grabbed his arm and flew away with him on paper wings, barely managing to escape the vicinity before the area burst into fire, and Nagato's body turned to ash.

Many days later, Obito Uchiha screamed in anger as he came to see the destruction that had once been Nagato. After he slowly managed to calm himself down, he remembered his last resort. It took months of preparation, but when it was finally finished, he pulled a single seal from the mouth of the Gedo Mazo.

ooooo

A small, blond boy yawned leisurely and stretched out in the sheets. Bright light filtered through the windows of his small room, and remnants of cup ramen littered the floor. He opened his eyes slowly, prepared for another full day of hard work and studying the fine art of enka.

The ceiling was the first thing that set him on edge. Tents didn't have ceilings.

He sat up straight, and noticed that he was in a proper bed. Tents didn't have beds either.

At this realization, Naruto burst into action. He was training, after all. It was only fair to assume that they would test him in his weakness. He crossed his legs on the bed and brought his hands together, concentrating a pool of chakra in his core. After he felt that it would be enough, he pushed it out in a sphere around him.

"Kai!"

When the small shockwave had passed, he opened his eyes again to peer around the room. The same room with its rickety bed and dirty windows and cups of ramen. He took a moment to wonder exactly how they had gained so much information about his former home, but…

_No genjutsu._

He slid out of the bed slowly, feeling extremely disoriented. It was like his legs ended much higher than they should, and everything was suddenly larger. A few wobbly steps, and he stood in front of the wooden dresser, pulling open drawer after drawer and examining the mundane things inside them. He lifted up a piece of orange clothing, and raised an eyebrow. There were underpants much too small for him.

With that, he turned to the door, determined to understand what he had gotten into. Before he managed to turn the doorknob, there was a searing pain in his head and he collapsed onto the floor.

ooooo

Within a sewer in his mind, a Demon Fox was getting irritated.

"_Brat."_

"_Get up."_

"_Fine. Take your own time. It makes no difference to me."_

Naruto heard the voice swarming around in his head, and brought a hand up to nurse his skull. He opened his eyes slowly only to look into a pair of yellow eyes. The realization hit again and his pushed himself up off the stone ground and narrowed his eyes. He immediately looked up to check the seal; it was still strong. After having his father redo it, he felt like it would never loosen again. The giant beast was crouched up against the bars of his cage, watching him expectantly.

"What do you want? You never call me down here," he said sharply, senses at full alert.

"After watching you react, I've decided it would be best for me if you knew," Kyuubi told him cryptically, "that blasted Chibaku Tensei has weakened me, so I had to wait until I recovered before calling you here."

"Why should I listen to anything you have to say?" Naruto snarled. His hand automatically clenched into fists at his sides, but not as aggressively as usual. After witnessing B speak with Gyuki and feeling slightly jealous of their relationship, he had planned to speak to his bijuu one day. But today was not that day.

"How much do you know about the Rikudo Sennin?"

Naruto was taken aback for a moment. The look in the fox's eyes told him that this was something serious. He kept his guard up, but mentally ran though everything his sensei and Ero-Sennin had told him about the legends of the first shinobi.

"He was the God of Shinobi, the most powerful one in existence," the blond replied reluctantly.

"No, what types of jutsu was he known for?"

"I don't know."

The giant fox did something akin to a sigh, "he was known for his powerful Space-Time jutsu, a branch usually controlled with fuuinjutsu. With his Creation of All Things, he controlled chakra and space itself. You must already be familiar with space-jutsu. Your father used it in the form of Hiraishin with his teleportation seals."

"What are you trying to tell me, teme?" Naruto was slowly getting more and more on edge. Kyuubi was acting too differently, this was not normal. The giant beast was not even attempting to trick him into pulling the seal off, and that was suspicious.

"There are also jutsu that depend on time, and use time seals. Six years ago, one of these seals was used to reset the world."

Naruto barely understood what the fox was telling him. Seals with time? What was all of that? The fox was trying to trick him again…this time more subtly. "No such thing happened six years ago," he snarled.

"You don't remember any of it. For the last six years you were in a place were no memories could be kept, the place where the time seal transported your consciousness while the world rewound. I, however, remember everything, because I am a creature of pure chakra. I spent the time watching from the seal, tracing the path of the world. The only reason you still remember the state that is long gone, is because you contain me and some of my power is with you," the beast was settled down on the floor. He was in a bad state, weak from chakra drain, and his ribs were visible through the skin that stretched over them and the thin fur that covered it.

"I don't understand," Naruto frowned. He had never been good at ninjutsu theory and he had no clue about any part of fuuinjutsu. He had planned to have Ero-Sennin teach him one day…but that dream had been lost a while ago.

"You don't need to. There are only a few things that you must know. The future you know has been erased, and you are back where you were six years ago. Only the other Jinchuuriki who have come into contact with their bijuu have lived through the years that you have. I have a vague understanding of how stupid you are, so I advise you to think of it as time travel," he explained, "but you should probably wake up. I believe a small human is attempting to kill you while you sleep."

And with a smirk, the Kyuubi slowly disappeared and Naruto was thrust out of his mind.

ooooo

"SHAN NARA!"

A searing pain formed on the side of Naruto's cheek as he sat up immediately from where he had collapsed on the floor. In front of him was a pair of legs. He carefully nursed the side of his face that had suffered from the vicious punch and looked up to see who his assailant was.

"First day of being a genin and you're SLEEPING ON THE FLOOR? BAKA! We were supposed to meet half an hour ago! Get up or we'll be late and Kakashi-sensei will fail Sasuke too!"

"Ah…Sakura-chan…"

The pink-haired girl didn't bother to respond, instead opting to drag Naruto out of the window next to the bed that she had entered from, grabbing his hitai-ite from his bedside on the way out and plunking it onto his head.

"Sakura-chan, I didn't eat…"

"Good. Sensei informed us that we weren't supposed to eat, remember?"

Naruto was in a special state of confusion. Sakura was young again. She had been learning more than punches from Tsunade baa-chan. But this was a little extreme…

He looked around, still in somewhat of a denial. Around him were the familiar sights of Konoha, perfectly normal even though Pein had destroyed everything only a few months ago. Just how much reconstruction had they done while he was away?...

The Kyuubi's words were beginning to come up in his mind…time jutsu, something about a time-jutsu that had reset things. That could be why he felt so much smaller than he remembered, and Sakura still had her long pink hair. It could explain why the villagers were mulling about their daily lives in a village that looked perfectly fine. He silently went along.

They reached the genin training grounds in record time, since Sakura was practically running and dragging Naruto behind her. When they arrived, a young dark haired boy was leaning against a tree looking utterly bored. Kakashi-sensei was nowhere in sight.

"I brought Naruto! Is sensei here yet?" Sakura asked him, out of breath.

Naruto slowly looked up from where he had collapsed, panting from the running he had gone through. For some reason he was still slightly disoriented and easily tired. The moment his eyes met the other boy's, he stilled.

_Sasuke…Sasuke is here. And he's young. He…hasn't left us yet. That means…if Kyuubi really was telling the truth…time travel back to when I was little…_

"SASUKE!"

Naruto suddenly burst into a wide smile and ran towards the gloomy boy who hadn't yet graced Sakura's question with an answer. He threw his arms around the boy and squeezed as tightly as he could, marveling at the fact that his friend was _there _and not off somewhere else after betraying them. This was the old Sasuke, the one he knew best.

The Uchiha who he was hugging spluttered, "Oi…what are you…I can't breathe…let go of me dobe!"

Sakura watched in horror as the Dead Last hugged poor Sasuke as the Uchiha boy desperately tried to untangle himself from Naruto's arms. Unfortunately, the blond had a good grip and he didn't budge.

"Gerrof", he pushed again, and Naruto slowly pulled back, looking at him with shining eyes that scared him a little.

"Sasuke…you're here", he muttered happily, holding his friend at arm's length, "this is so wonderful…"

"Our test was supposed to start an hour ago! Where did you expect me to be, at home sleeping like you were? Get away from me, you're too close! Too close!"

"That's right!" Sakura cheered, "Sasuke likes _girls_!"

"Kakashi-sensei is always an hour late, we've got lots of time! And now that you're here we can be friends, can't we?"

"Not a chance! Stay away!" Sasuke reached into his pack and brought out a kunai, brandishing it in front of him with a gleam in his eye. Naruto didn't pay him any heed, already lost in the realization that he had technically succeeded in reuniting team seven, even if someone else had actually done it for him. Along with that came the slow but steady knowledge that Kyuubi's words were beginning to fit together. He had traveled back in time.

"I can do things over again…" he whispered to himself quietly, ignoring the strange looks that his teammates were giving him. He turned around and gave them both wide smiles, "Alright, we're going to pass this test and become genin!" While he was doing so, he might as well lead them down the right path, "and that involves teamwork!"

"What's gotten into you, dobe?" Sasuke asked with his arms crossed, "there's no way I'm working with a half-brain like you. I'll pass the test myself."

"You can do it Sasuke!" Sakura cheered, watching the Uchiha longingly.

"Hn. Where is Kakashi-sensei anyway? He's almost an hour late."

"I already told you, he's always an hour late. Every time. Lateness is a part of his being," Naruto explained.

"How would you know that anyway? We all just met him yesterday," Sakura huffed, "being late once doesn't guarantee that he's _always _late. Shinobi have to be disciplined."

Ah. Right. He really needed a plan for this before he messed something up.

"I've heard about him from the other jonin-sensei," he explained, "oh look, he's here," he pointed to where a tall figure in a mask was approaching the training grounds. Sakura and Sasuke both turned around with accusing glares as he arrived.

"You're late." Sakura pointed out.

"Mou, sorry, sorry. I found a lonely cat and had to give it some food because I felt sorry for it. Unfortunately it didn't seem to like the dog food I had very much, so I went and bought it some fish," he scratched the back of his mask, surveying his genin.

Uchiha boy. Well built for his age, sensible clothing for combat, and serious expression.

Haruno girl. Not much muscle, but lithe. Clothing was slightly more aesthetically focused, but it would do. Glanced at the Uchiha every few seconds.

And then his eyes settled on Naruto. Naruto, who was still in his striped pajamas and panda bear sleeping cap with a hitai-ite haphazardly dangling around one of the panda's ears. Body shape undeterminable due to horrible choice of clothing. Oh dear…

"Naruto-kun. I cannot believe I am saying this, but that orange jumpsuit is actually preferable over your current outfit," Kakashi said lazily, "sleeping problems?"

"No sensei," the blond boy said seriously, "Sakura dragged me out of bed, sensei. I didn't have time to change."

"He was late," Sakura explained.

"No I wasn't! I was accounting for sensei's lateness in order to get more sleep for the test," Naruto added.

"My…lateness? And how did you know that?"

"I heard some of the other jonin-sensei mention that you were always late."

"Which jonin-sensei?"

"I don't know his name…"

"What did he look like?" Kakashi drilled.

Naruto gulped. Hatake Kakashi saw through lies, "I don't remember…"

Kakashi sighed but luckily he didn't take it any further, assuming that Naruto had just lied to give a reason for not waking up on time.

"Alright," the jonin sensei began, "I'm sure you already know that I have a test for you," he reached into his pouch and withdrew two bells, dangling them in front of him, "you three are going to try and take these from me."

Naruto watched amusedly as the bells mesmerized both his teammates. Sasuke saw in them the path to his brother. Sakura saw the path to Sasuke. He turned back to Kakashi, who was looking at his strangely for the lack of reaction.

"You have until noon," the masked jonin went on, "and whether you succeed or fail, one of you won't be getting lunch," he narrowed his visible eye, "if you want to have any kind of chance, you must come at me with the intent to kill."

Sakura faltered, "but…what if you get hurt?" She asked softly.

Kakashi's revealed eye crinkled in a smile as he looked down at her, "if you manage to hurt me, Sakura-chan, you're free to take to my place as a jonin," he said dryly. Sakura gulped.

"Well, I'll set the timer now. I have a new book to enjoy while I do this, but feel free to attack at any moment," he leisurely drew a white timer from his pouch and set it down on the log. The moment he hit the start, Sasuke and Sakura were already heading for the trees.

This time, there had to be an easier way to pass. There was no way he would be suffering the Thousand Years of Death again. Coming up with an idea, he suddenly grinned. As they scattered, Naruto followed Sasuke into his hiding place. He knew that if he convinced him of his plan first, Sakura would follow without a thought.

"Oi! Get away dobe, you'll give my position away!" Sasuke hissed, attempting to jump to another branch from the one he was currently perched on. Naruto grabbed the boy's ankle before his feet left the ground, causing him to stumble.

"Wait! I know how we can do this. I have a plan. Just listen, ok?"

"Nothing you come up with would work. If you want, go serve as a distraction or something."

"You see that book he's reading, Sasuke? I know the ending," he smirked at the other boy, "if we time it right I could yell out spoilers and distract his hands. He'll be covering his ears. Then you can attack."

Sasuke squinted at the cover of the book in their sensei's hand, "that's ecchi isn't it? What kind of stuff do you read, dobe?"

Naruto shrugged, "I've never actually read it. I just heard the ending from…Ebisu-sensei while he was talking to someone else about it. He reads that stuff." He probably did. Closet pervert.

The Uchiha gave him a long look before finally turning his head away.

"Fine. You go distract him with the spoilers and then I'll get him."

"No! Actually, this is supposed to be a teamwork exercise. Kakashi-sensei will only pass us if we display teamwork. I know that because Sandaime-jiji used the same test. We have to find Sakura-chan," he explained.

"Ch. She's right over there. Opposite from us, in that bush."

"Let's go then!" He pulled Sasuke along with him as they both approached the girl's hiding place.

When they reached Sakura, she was crouching under the foliage, eyeing the bells on their sensei's waist. She didn't notice their approach until Naruto approached her from behind and put his hand over her mouth.

"It's me. And Sasuke", he whispered as she calmed down, "we have a plan. It requires you going for the bells."

"What?" Sasuke asked in a harsh whisper, "why her?"

"Because you can distract him with that fireball jutsu after he covers his ears and then she can go in with a punch and take the bells," he explained.

"P-Punch?" she asked tentatively.

"Yup. We're counting on you Sakura-chan," Naruto gave her a thumbs-up as Sasuke quietly and slowly bashed his forehead against a tree in disbelief.

"I can't…I'm not strong enough to-"

"You're plenty strong Sakura-chan. Just punch him like you punched me this morning. Except from the back. I'm going in now. Sasuke, come in as soon as his hands are on his ears."

"Ch," Sasuke reluctantly nodded, hesitant to take orders from the Dead Last. However, if the plan failed, only Naruto and Sakura would be hurt, so it didn't matter.

Naruto calmly stepped out of the clearing, arms crossed over his chest as he faced his sensei head on with the same confident expression he had worn the first time.

"Ah. Pajamas is out while Pinky and Gloomy are still hiding. Interesting," Kakashi remarked, turning a page in his book.

Before saying anything, Naruto went ahead and threw three kunai haphazardly to give the impression that he was really charging into battle. Kakashi avoided them all and caught one of them in his hands, examining the blade while ignoring the blond boy standing in front of him. Then Naruto decided that it was time.

"That's an interesting book you have there, sensei. What's it about?"

"…not until you're at least eighteen, Naruto. I may not have any idea what boys your age are up to these days but this is really not the time."

"Aww…I thought it would be really good, cause I heard someone talking about it yesterday."

"Another nameless and faceless jonin-sensei, I presume?"

"Well, yeah. He read the entire thing, but you don't seem to be very far in yet. I'll help you out, ok?"

"What?-" Kakashi narrowed his eyes slightly at the pajama clad boy.

"So at the end…"

"NO!" Kakashi swiftly put the book away and raised his hands to cover his ears, "I don't need to hear it!"

"Well, the heroine, that girl from Kaminari no Kuni, meets up with the man that she had been seeing from before the war, and her lover comes to find them-"

"Katon: Goukakyu no Jutsu!"

A giant ball of fire came out of the bushes behind them and rushed towards the copy-nin. Kakashi deftly jumped upwards and missed the flame, staying in the air for a second before jumping back down. The moment his feet touched the ground, a swift punch approached him from behind. It was as powerful as only a girl desperately trying to please the boy who she admired could make it.

"Yes!" Naruto raised a fist in the air, proud to see Sakura making solid contact. She didn't yet have the inhuman strength that she would develop in the future, but all those times she had punched him had counted as practice. Even Sasuke gave her a moment's glance as he released his hand seals from the Katon jutsu.

Their glee was horribly disrupted as the skin Sakura had made contact with erupted into a cloud of chakra smoke. It had been a clone. Naruto sighed, he had already done everything his genin self could be expected to do, and he didn't yet have the proper taijutsu skills ingrained in his body to engage someone as powerful as his sensei in combat. Revealing the rasengan would be suspicious, and he didn't have the toad contract to use anything as advanced as sage mode. Otherwise, his inventory of jutsu was actually pitifully low.

He sighed and transitioned into the Tiger seal, preparing to release a Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu to get Sakura safely out of the way.

"Stop."

All three of them turned around to see Kakashi-sensei standing behind them. Although his mask covered most of his face, his eyes revealed that he was smiling.

"You pass."

There was a moment of silence.

"Eh?" Sakura asked, still in punching position.

"This was a test of teamwork, and somehow you three managed to successfully work as a team. Therefore I'm going to pass you. Welcome to Team Seven."

"Where was the real you?" Sasuke asked.

"I was in the bushes behind Sakura, reading. I heard you three talking about your plan, I was slightly impressed so I decided to watch you carry it out. 'Punch him like you punched me this morning,' eh?"

Sakura's face turned almost as pink as her hair, "baka Naruto was sleeping in and I went to find him. Sleeping on the floor. In his really messy apartment with empty ramen cups everywhere. I think I even saw a bug on the way in," she shuddered, "it took me forever to find him anyway, so I was kind of angry and tired."

"Sorry…" Naruto sheepishly scratched the back of his head, "you had trouble finding me?"

"Of course! Why on earth do you live in the middle of nowhere? I know which direction you walk after school but every shopkeeper I asked didn't give me any information about where you lived. Finally this kind oji-san from a ramen stand told me where you lived."

"Ah. Anyway, you all did well enough to pass. Sasuke," he turned to the Uchiha boy, "you came prepared and you are talented with ninjutsu. You were able to form the hand seals very quickly. That was what allowed you to catch my clone off-guard. Sakura," he turned to look at the girl who was bashfully staring at the ground, "that was a strong punch. Although you were hesitant, you saw the merits of your teammate's plan and preformed well in it. Naruto, "he finally turned to look at the pajama-clad boy, "you have the ability to think well in bad situations. I didn't like the plan to ruin my book for me, but it was a good plan given the circumstances. You also found the best uses for your teammates."

"Yes!" Naruto pumped his fist in the air, and Sakura did the same. Sasuke smirked, looking generally pleased with himself. He reasoned that eventually, he would have to forgive the dobe for that hug. Eventually.

"You two may go, we'll meet tomorrow at the bridge at seven o'clock sharp. Naruto can stay behind for just a moment."

Eh? Stay behind? This never happened before…but then again. He had to expect that many things were going to change. He had already begun changing things. Maybe that hadn't been such a good idea after all.

Once Sasuke and Sakura were gone – with Sakura hopefully making eyes at her teammate so that he would ask her out for lunch – Kakashi turned to Naruto. He picked up the kunai that the blond boy had thrown before, and examined it.

"I just wanted to mention that all your kunai are a little rusted. You're not taking care of them very well," he flipped it around, displaying the rusted edges, "I'm not much of an iryounin, but I know that if you cut yourself with this it'll be dangerous."

Naruto bit his lip, and then decided that he would go for the straightforward approach. It wasn't good to lie to Hatake Kakashi, he had learned that a long time ago.

"I actually get them like that, and I usually sharpen the rust away. I don't think the weapons store manager likes me very much…"

"Eh?"

"Well…I think I played a prank on him once…" Naruto tried. It was probably true, he had played pranks on most of the merchants he met.

"Ah… show me the rest of your weapons then. I'll check over them. I was actually supposed to train you three today but I forgot and already sent two of you away so I have too much free time," Kakashi sighed.

Naruto narrowed his eyes. He was probably lying, Kakashi would never forget something like that. Ah well. The important part was that he couldn't let sensei see his apartment. He still vaguely remembered the day Tsunade had come over to speak to him about training with Jiraiya. She had taken one look at the desolate place and had him relocated with some of the Hokage's Shinobi oriented budget. His new place had been so far from Ichiraku Ramen…it was a painful few years.

Kakashi, on the other hand, was very interested by the development. His ANBU senses immediately informed him that the boy was slightly different. He had trailed the three of them before, after the Hokage informed him that his new genin team would contain his sensei's son and the last Uchiha. Naruto had been, to put it lightly, an utter idiot. Now he was coming up with strategies? It was strange, in a good way.

"Uh…they're all back at my place. So maybe I could bring them tomorrow. Teach me a cool jutsu, sensei! I'll show it to Sakura and the teme when they get back!"

"No we'll just go to your place," the masked jonin lazily took out his book, "start walking."

He noticed that Naruto was suddenly very reluctant. Interesting. Maybe there was someone in his apartment that he was hiding…after all, he had already heard of the attempt with the scroll of forbidden jutsu.

The boy slowly nodded and started walking out of the training ground. Kakashi read his book while he followed, keeping Naruto's orange bed-slippers in sight beneath the cover. The walk to the slightly unsavory neighborhood where Minato's son lived was completely silent, Naruto was shuffling his feet along and Kakashi had his nose buried in the book.

"Er, sensei we're here," the boy mumbled, slowly walking up a pair of disintegrating stairs to an apartment that had seen better days. In fact, Kakashi had known this place. When he had been young, it had been a wonderful neighborhood, generally a good place for a young child to grow up. However, it seemed to have gotten exponentially worse in the past few years, he'd noticed that the day Sandaime-sama had brought him here. Why?

Ah. The jonin sighed inwardly. Kyuubi, of course. The more respectable people who had lived in the area had probably moved out due to their biases, leaving only the questionable folk behind.

He decided to rationally blame everything on Jiraiya-san, even though he knew his reasons perfectly well. The old man was his godfather after all. And he was probably out drinking somewhere.

He watched over the top of his book as Naruto retrieved the key and pushed the door open. They were in some sort of main room, which lead to a bathroom, bedroom, and kitchen. The first thing he noticed was that there were ramen cup wrappers on the sofas. Naruto immediately walked over to a shelf nearby and opened it, displaying a rather haphazard arrangement of weapons.

"These are just my backup tools. You're going to teach me how to make them sharper, right?"

"Right. Do you have a kunai sharpening block on you?"

"No…"

"Then how do you keep your kunai from going completely blunt?"

"Well…I just buy more," Naruto frowned. It felt like he had said something wrong, but what could it be?

Kakashi sighed and face palmed. This was going to be hard. The boy was probably spending a ridiculous amount of money just on kunai if he was replacing them so often.

"Well, we should probably get you a sharpening block then. It only takes a few seconds to re-sharpen kunai when you have one. Also, this place is a mess. You have so much free time and yet it's still messy…"

"Oi! I went to the academy every day for seven hours!"

"…so much free time every day."

Kakashi was a little lost, and yet he knew exactly why it had come to this. This had started the day Sandaime-sama had shown him the boy's apartment. The old geezer was slowly trying to implement the idea into his mind in the hopes that he'd eventually come up with it himself. He sighed; it had worked. It seemed that he had fallen in. _Minato-sensei, you had better be extremely pleased with me. _

"Listen, Naruto. You live too far from the training grounds. I can't afford to send Sakura every morning to retrieve you," he said mirthfully.

"It's alright, I can walk fast! I'll be extra training!" Naruto didn't see what the problem was, he had always walked the distance, and Kakashi-sensei had never made a big deal about it before. Exactly what was changing?

"Mou…but I live in an apartment compound with some other jonin and chunin. I have an extra guest room that I never use. You can stay there if you like. My apartment is quite a bit smaller than yours, but it should work out," Kakashi was rubbing the back of his head again. After all, when his father had died, Minato-sensei had refused to allow him to stay alone in his family house, and had practically dragged him into his own home on merely the third day they had known each other. He was indebted, and what better way to pay it back than though sensei's son?

_Do not accept, _a voice called from somewhere inside his head. Naruto recognized it as the Kyuubi's voice. It was completely ignored as he took in what his sensei had just offered. The joy slowly bubbled up inside of him.

It wasn't the idea of leaving his place, he'd actually grown fond of the messy apartment. It was the fact that Kakashi was paying so much more attention to him this time whereas before it had been Sasuke-this Sasuke-that and he and Sakura had felt slightly left out. It was…nice.

"That sounds awesome! I'll accept on one condition."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow, "hm?"

"How close do you live to a certain place called 'Ichiraku Ramen?'…"

ooooo

After going to see if his sensei's apartment was close enough to his favorite food place, Naruto was back in his room packing up all his things. Most of his everyday ramen was going in the bin, some were expired anyway, but his premium ramen was coming with him. All twenty cups of it.

As a young boy with no parents to drag him shopping for clothing, he didn't have much of it, but he packed all the pajamas, underwear, and orange jumpsuits in his possession. It was strangely nostalgic, he still remembered the day he had first noticed his precious jumpsuit tearing at the knee. Ero-sennin had seen his sadness and had immediately taken him to the tailor and asked for something similar.

_Brat. _The voice in his head spoke again.

"Shut up Kyuubi," he said out loud. There was no need to talk to the fox again; he already knew he had travelled back in time.

_Listen, you idiot. You've made a mistake. With a high jonin like him right next to you, you can't perform well!_

"Kakashi-sensei is going to help me perform well-"

_No you idiot, the goal! The mission! You still don't know what that is! Don't forget that this is Uchiha Madara's doing, you must find a way to get out or the world will reset itself again. As something descended from the Gedo Mazo that the time seal came from, I am aware of the trigger. _

"Trigger? What trigger?"

The fox seemed to mentally sigh. _Why must I work with idiots like you all the time? The trigger is the event that will allow the world to reset again. You see, time jutsu has no term for 'go back to the past' because it is impossible to map out time into past and future. According to time jutsu, past and future are equal; there is no way to distinguish them. So there is no way to perform a jutsu that will take the user back in time only once, and then allow it to flow freely. It must be based on a trigger. In this case, the trigger was the destruction of the Rinnegan. If that moment happens again, the world will reset in the same way it just did. _

"Destruction of the Rinnegan?"

_Yes, brat. For some reason, that Nagato wanted to help you. But he knew that Madara would come after his eyes, and if Uchiha Madara attained both the Rinnegan and the Mangekyou Sharingan your silly dreams would fail. So he used the last of his energy to destroy the remains of his body, and his eyes as well. In doing so, he greatly angered Madara, to the point that he was driven to use a technique that had not been called on by anyone except the Rikudo Sennin himself. _

"So you're saying that if Nagato's eyes are destroyed again, I'll time-travel back into the past like I just did? So I can have as many chances to fix the world as I want?" Naruto grinned.

_You fool! This is not a 'chance'! Every time this happens, the strings of time clash into themselves. If you allow it to happen again, you will distort the time stream even further, and the world might be almost unrecognizable. _

"Distort the what?" Naruto sat cross-legged in the middle of the room and focused on the words. The Kyuubi had given him vital information the first time, and he was willing to give the creature another hesitant chance.

_You may find that some things are…off…in this time stream. For example, you knew the ending to Jiraiya's book, Icha Icha Violence. But that book was only written in the future, while you traveled with the toad sage. How could it exist now?_

"Ah! That's strange…" He frowned.

_The section of the stream that clashed into itself transferred some events. So in this time, the toad sage has already written the book. The resetting has only happened once so far, and the changes are minimal, but it changes drastically with every further reset. You may find that in the next reset, none of your friends have been born because their parents never meet. _

_Of course, for Madara Uchiha this means nothing; it is just a different world for him to control. But you cannot afford to do this, because if a change happens in which I am transferred to another host as part of a distortion, you will loose all your memories of the future. Or worse, a distortion could occur in which you might never have been born. _

Naruto shivered, and a serious frown overtook his face as he considered it. A part of his brain that had become slightly more childish as it melded with his former self still understood very little, but he still had the mind of Naruto of the future. The consequences were too large.

"What should I do to stop the trigger?"

_You must make sure that the Rinnegan survives past the six-year mark from today, when Nagato will attack the village. There is one other thing I must tell you; the Madara currently living has none of his future memories. _

"What? But then why would he risk the Time Travel?"

_Because he will regain the memories when the trigger does not go off. Essentially, it is a jutsu that changes the world, and then puts you into it when it takes your liking. If this succeeds, then Madara will feel as if the Rinnegan is still in existence only seconds after he activates that seal, because the time reset will go on indefinitely until the trigger is not activated. He is letting the world play out until he finds it satisfactory. _

"But…this would mean that I am working towards the same goal as Madara, the goal of not setting off the trigger."

_In a way, yes. Except he does not know that Nagato joined you, he only knows that you defeated Pein. With your knowledge, you could convince Pein to join you before he attacks the village, and create a powerful living ally. _

"True…so I have to save Nagato from himself. I'm good at that, really. Saving people from themselves," Naruto sighed, "this is why you didn't want me to live with Kakashi-sensei, because I need to do things that he might find suspicious. But I won't give up this opportunity, I'll find a way."

_Fine. You can figure something out. However, although I am strong, you are still weak. You cannot do this alone. The only others who know the truth are the Jinchuuriki who have developed some kind of bond with their bijuu. Find them and recruit them. _

"I can do that!" Naruto grinned, "this time, I'll impress him with the enka I learned from him!"

_Please, leave that one for last…_

**ooooo**

**Hello new readers! Believe it or not, this story was written in two months ;) (I am writing this AN after marking it complete). As for warnings, hmm, occasional language *Hidan* and pervertedness *Jiraiya* and lots of fighting, but what would Naruto be without it? There is no bashing, and this fic would be considered gen (no-pairing). **

******Note: try not to look at the chapter titles too far ahead, I've recently realized that they have a few spoilers :P**


	2. Gathering Allies

**Chapter 2 – Gathering Allies**

The next morning, Naruto woke up and stretched leisurely. The bed was small and a little harder than the one in his old place, but it was sparkling clean and the sheets smelled like fresh soap and cherry blooms bloomed right outside the window. He pushed himself up and checked the time; it was six in the morning. He considered leaving the room and going to the training grounds early to get some practice in with his taijutsu katas. The room had a door that lead directly to the apartment compound, so he could leave without alerting Kakashi-sensei.

However, that would require purchasing breakfast by himself outside, and he was almost penniless. It was much easier to use the kitchen in the apartment's common room that connected Kakashi's bedroom with his own. Hopefully the older jonin had something to eat stored away, or at least some milk available.

With this in mind, he quickly brushed his teeth in the small bathroom leading off his bedroom and headed to the kitchen, which transitioned into a tiny sitting room. There was no breakfast table since the place was so small, so Naruto figured he would have to eat on the sofa. He walked over to the refrigerator and pulled it open. Inside was…nothing. It was completely empty.

He frowned and pulled open some of the cupboards, finding them also empty. The place was completely void of food. What on earth did Kakashi-sensei eat? He couldn't have built all that lean muscle from takeout. Sighing, he went back into his room and retrieved a cup of dried ramen noodles.

He placed it on the kitchen counter and opened the top to pour in hot water from the tap, setting his chopsticks on top and waiting patiently while watching the time. When the two minutes were up, he took the cup to the sofa, ripped the rest of the cover off, and stirred the warm noodles around with his chopsticks.

Just as he gulped down the first mass of noodles, the door opposite to the one that lead to his own room opened slowly. Naruto watched in anticipation, wondering how Kakashi behaved in his own house. Maybe he would be wearing a robe, or a set of pajamas. Maybe he would walk around without his mask…

His hopes were ruined when Kakashi-sensei emerged from the room dressed in full jonin gear. The only indication that he'd been sleeping was the slight ruffle of his hair.

The jonin glanced around the room, and his eyes landed on Naruto, who was sitting on the sofa in his striped pajamas and bed slippers, slurping up a cup of ramen noodles.

"Ramen in the morning?"

Naruto glared at him, "why do you have a kitchen anyway? There's nothing in it."

"Mou…I suppose I'll have to stock it with something now that you're here. I eat outside. Usually, I'm interrupted for breakfast every morning by Gai-san, who comes after he finishes his morning training-"

At that moment, the door burst open to reveal the jonin mentioned. Maito Gai stood in the doorway, and Naruto had to stifle a giggle at seeing the crazy jonin-sensei again.

"Kakashi, my rival! I am filled with energy from training with my wonderful students, let us go eat a breakfast filled with the energy of youth!" The jonin erupted into speech. He then noticed Naruto, who was still sitting on the sofa slurping his noodles.

"OH? And who is this wonderful Champion of Youth that occupies your home?" He gave the blond boy a sharp wave, "he seems to be attempting to become and Cool and Hip as you, Kakashi."

Naruto stared in confusion, noodles hanging out of his mouth.

"This is one of my genin students, Naruto-kun. I should warn you that if you attempt to give him a green suit I will _accident _you," Kakashi replied in a monotone.

Maito Gai approached him on the couch just as he took another large slurp of ramen. "I am Maito Gai, but many call be Konoha's Noble Green Beast! It is a pleasure to meet one of my eternal rival's prized students, I am certain that you will make a worth rival for one of my own youthful students."

"Yes yes. Leave the poor boy alone, Gai," he turned to Naruto, "I'm going to meet the other jonin-sensei for breakfast and report your passing as a genin team. Be at the training grounds by seven."

Naruto nodded, "I was thinking I could go early and practice my katas before we begin."

Kakashi nodded, but Gai took more interest in his statement, "I insist that you go and train with my own students instead. They will be happy to have another person to accompany them. They are currently in training ground four, you must go challenge them to a youthful battle of strength!"

Naruto winced, painfully aware of his eleven-year-old body's pathetic physique, "er, yeah, sure." He put the empty cup of ramen on the table – which Kakashi looked at disapprovingly – and ran into his room, quickly pulling on his jumpsuit and hitai-ite before running out the door, "bye Kakashi-sensei, you should be early this time!"

As soon as he exited the apartment compound, Kyuubi's voice reappeared in his head.

_Brat. You're getting too comfortable. You have to focus on finding a way out, not on meeting all your friends again!_

"But what am I supposed to do? I'm in my weak eleven-year-old body, and the most advanced jutsu I can perform is the rasengan. Am I supposed to use that to take out Uchiha Madara?" He whispered, "my taijutsu is average because I don't have much strength or speed to utilize. I'm planning on working to improve it first before I do anything rash."

_Then find someone powerful. We don't have time to wait for your body to catch up; you'll have to train on the way. Find the perverted old man, get the toad contract, and you'll have your sage mode back. _

"Or…I could tell Ero-sennin. And then he could help me rescue Nagato…" Naruto pondered, "but will he believe me? He definitely won't just jump to the conclusion of advanced time jutsu the moment I tell him. And if I just reveal information he might think I'm a spy. But I have to get the help of someone powerful enough…"

_Don't forget your mission. Choose someone powerful to tell and get this person to track down the Jinchuuriki for you. _Kyuubi added.

"Then Ero-sennin would be the perfect choice, he's always travelling after all. But I definitely can't go with him, I just joined a genin team…wait. Kakashi-sensei. I could tell both of them. Then Ero-sennin can be outside the village tracking the Jinchuuriki while Kakashi and I can find ways to leave the village find Nagato," Naruto decided, "now I have to think of ways to explain this to him…"

_If you can do it, that would be a good option, _Kyuubi commented, _make it fast. You only have six years, and if you waste too much time you'll be stranded in a world far more foreign. _

Naruto nodded and continued walking. The training grounds were only a short jog away from the jonin apartment compound where Kakashi lived; it really was convenient. Naruto dutifully walked over to training ground four where he was met with a very familiar sight.

One Rock Lee, the perfect miniature of Maito Gai, was doing pushups on the ground as if his life counted on it. Tenten was nearby practicing with nun chunks. Neji Hyuuga was practicing graceful, Jyuuken-oriented katas. He was the first to notice Naruto, but went back to the stances.

"Hello, genin-kun!" Lee said upon seeing him and seeing his hitai-ite.

"Hello," Naruto replied, "are you three the students of Gai-sensei?"

"Indeed! We are his loyal and youthful students, you are correct," Lee replied enthusiastically. Naruto grinned. This was one person who never changed.

"Gai-sensei told me to come practice with you. I'm a student on Kakashi-sensei's genin team," he told the other boy, "may I?"

"Kakashi-sensei…that name sounds familiar…" Tenten trailed, pausing her strikes.

"Of course," a small vein was pushing against Neji's forehead, "he is Gai-sensei's so called 'eternal rival'." Despite his words he was regarding Naruto with a curious look, "Kakashi-sensei is very talented. I was told he became a jonin at the age of thirteen."

"Sensei is amazing," Naruto agreed.

"You may train with us, Kakashi's genin-kun" Lee struck the nice-guy pose, "how would you like to have a most youthful spar?"

Naruto smiled happily, his muscles were already starting to complain. But he knew Rock Lee well; you had to at least attempt to fight him in order to gain any sort of respect, "my name is Uzumaki Naruto! Nice to meet you."

"And I am Rock Lee! Neji, please oversee our spar."

Neji mumbled something incomprehensible and reluctantly approached the two. Tenten put down her nun chunks and leaned against a tree to watch the fight.

"Do not worry, Neji-kun. Despite my interest in young Naruto-kun, you will always be my one and true rival. There is no need for jealousy," Lee told him, misinterpreting his expression.

"I am not jealous! He can have you!" Neji retorted, "The winner will be the first one down or cornered. Begin."

Inside Naruto's brain, the Kyuubi was bashing its head against the wall of its prison. _What on earth is this brat doing? He's wasting time, dammit!_

Naruto watched as Lee readied himself into his typical stance with one arm out in front. He definitely wasn't going to win with only taijutsu. Even in the future, Lee's taijutsu had overtaken that of any other Shinobi except perhaps Gai-sensei himself. Luckily, he still had the various forms of rasengan, but it would be suspect if he revealed it here. The only jutsu he had at his disposal were kawarimi and Kage bunshin…

"Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" He yelled. Over fifty clones formed instantly and took their stances. Neji raised an eyebrow at the sea of orange, reevaluating his first impression of the silly-looking boy.

"Ah, so you are a student of ninjutsu. No matter, I will take your challenge," Lee yelled out. He charged with an almost inhuman speed and took out clones by the dozens. The real Naruto hid in the back, trying to come up with some sort of plan to beat the taijutsu genius.

Finally, he decided that the only way to win was to play dirty. But before that, he would at least give him a show. His clones backed away slowly, allowing the real Naruto to run forward and engage Lee himself. He threw a few kicks and tried desperately to stay in the fight and avoid Lee's fists, but not one of his attacks hit. However, he gave him enough of a show to have Tenten and Neji looking on with interest. Finally, he backed away and made a quick hand seal.

"Oiroke no Jutsu!"

Immediately, Naruko-chan, as he had named her, appeared in a small cloud of smoke. She winked and blew a kiss at the frozen Lee.

"What-"

Lee could not continue as he watched Naruko approach him slowly. He backed away a little. Slowly, all the other clones also turned into Naruko.

"Hello…Lee…" Naruko in the front whispered.

In that instant, one of the Narukos in the back punched him in the back with all of her strength. For a second, Naruto mentally cheered on his female self, ecstatic to have defeated Lee as an eleven year old. However, when he looked again at the spot Lee had been standing in, there was only…a log?

"Wha-" Naruto had barely said the word before there was a sharp pain in his back.

"That was truly a formidable technique, Naruto-kun. It played with my senses to the point that I almost lost our spar. You are a worthy and youthful opponent indeed," Lee's voice came from above him as Naruto collapsed onto the ground.

"Winner is Lee. Good riddance," Neji commented from where he was still practicing katas. Upon seeing the half-naked army of Naruko, he had decided that first impressions really were more reliable.

"Hmm…" Tenten looked at the blond boy disapprovingly before looking down at herself and feeling slightly inadequate. She sighed and continued beating the life out of a practice dummy.

"But…how?" Naruto stuttered.

"I used Kawarimi no Jutsu at the last moment, of course. Then I came behind you while you were off-guard," Lee explained, pulling Naruto up off the ground.

"You can use Kawarimi no Jutsu? But…your chakra…"

"Ah, Gai-sensei must have told you," Lee scratched the back of his head, embarrassed, "it is true that I have very low reserves of chakra. But Kawarimi, Bunshin, and Henge require very little, so I am able to perform them."

Naruto looked on in amazement. Rock Lee performing Ninjutsu? Another interesting change of events from the time clash, possibly. Kyuubi had some more explaining to do, and this time with smaller words.

ooooo

After Kakashi arrived late for their day of training, he had them warm up with laps around the grounds, and then split them up for spars. Naruto was to spar against Sasuke, who was still a little miffed from the hug. Luckily, the blond was able to stay relatively uninjured with his more advanced taijutsu knowledge, even though his body was still not in shape.

Kakashi sparred with Sakura. It seemed that he had noticed the girl's talent for taijutsu and was subtlety adjusting her stances. At first Sakura had tried to spar as little as possible in an effort to not get sweaty while Sasuke was around, but Kakashi noticed that tendency immediately and took pleasure in dispelling it. One swift punch to the girl's stomach and she pushed herself to her feet and came at him as if he was Naruto..

It was almost comical when they were finished and Kakashi had taken her down with a swift hit to her sternum. After she realized that he made caused her to get sweaty from head to toe and she had to face Sasuke with her hair matted against her head, she sent him a look of pure killing intent.

Lunch had been eaten at a small barbeque place that Naruto remembered Chouji frequenting. For the sake of acting like his old, idiot self and not arousing suspicious, Naruto had sat himself down next to Sakura and proclaimed them to be on a date. He had to wait until after his jaw had healed before he could eat any of the barbeque beef.

This time, he noticed the furtive glances that Sasuke was giving their sensei while he eat, hoping to catch a glimpse of what was under his mask. It was all in vain because Kakashi was able to turn around, pull his mask down, and shove a piece of barbeque beef into his mouth with the speed of an ANBU's shunshin. Remembering their experiences during a certain D-rank mission, Naruto couldn't help but giggle at his teammate's antics.

At around three in the afternoon, they were dismissed for the day.

"Good work everyone. Tomorrow at seven as usual," Kakashi ended off, taking his book out of his pouch.

When the other two were gone, Naruto turned to the jonin, "Kakashi-sensei, I need to…talk to you about something."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow, "About what?"

"I can't say yet. No one else can hear. It's important."

The white-haired jonin's mind was whirring with thoughts about the Kyuubi. He nodded, and they both swiftly walked to Kakashi's apartment. When Naruto made to go to the sitting room, the jonin shook his head.

"Gai-san has the key and sometimes he barges in to challenge me to something. Last time I believe it was a competition of who could drink the most juice in one gulp," Kakashi said with the barest hint of humor, "I told him I had no juice and threw him out. So unless you want him to hear something, I suggest we talk in your room. Bear in mind that if I see a single item of clothing on the floor I will relocate you to the basement."

Naruto nodded and lead his sensei to his small but clean room, sitting down on the bed while Kakashi sat on the wooden chair nearby and watched him expectantly.

"So what is this mysterious thing you need to talk about?" His eyes emitted a carefree attitude, but Naruto could sense that his sensei was on full alert.

"Well, I need your help with something," the boy began, not sure at all how to explain this, "but first you have to believe me. And it's not easy to believe."

"Speak, then. We'll see."

"Do you know of the Rikudo Sennin?"

"Yes, but the question is, how do you know of him?" Kakashi narrowed his eyes.

"I've heard of him-"

"No on just _hears _about the Rikudo Sennin. Only the highest ranked ninja are even hinted to that such a person existed. You have some explaining to do."

Naruto ignored it and went on, "well, he specialized in space-time jutsu. Space Jutsu involves seals used to manipulate matter and chakra, like Yondaime-sama's Hiraishin or Rikudo Sennin's Creation of All Things. But there is also Time Jutsu…"

_The time jutsu used is called the Reset of the World, _Kyuubi added. It sat in its prison, listening intently.

"There is one called the Reset of the World," Naruto went on, "and it originates from the Juubi, the Ten Tails. It keeps resetting the world as long as a certain trigger occurs in time."

"I'm going to put aside the question of how you know about Yondaime-sama for now, but what on earth are you talking about? Time seals? A Trigger?" Kakashi crossed his arms expectantly.

"Time seals are just what they sounds like. They seem to erase a certain amount of the future until it seems as if the entire world has gone back in time," Naruto explained.

"So the seal user performs time travel?" The white haired jonin asked cynically.

"No. It's not like that because the user doesn't go back in time. It's a little more complicated," Naruto paused and listened intently as Kyuubi explained more from side his mind. Nodding, he went on to explain to Kakashi.

"Imagine you were the one who activated the seal, because you wanted something to change. Say, you wanted there to be milk in your refrigerator this morning so that your genin student wouldn't be disappointed," he briefly stuck his tongue out at his sensei, and then continued, "you would activate the seal, and then in the next moment, there would be milk in your refrigerator and your hungry genin student would be happy. That's all that would happen from your perspective. You wouldn't notice anything, but even if the rest of the world, the trigger – the lack of milk – would never happen."

"But what exactly happens?" The jonin-sensei was still skeptical.

"The world goes back in time as far as it can before the chakra in the seal runs out. Then it replays itself within that time span over and over until something happens that allows the trigger to _not _happen. Then it moves on and the seal-user – with all his memories – is placed into it. Until then, a different version of the seal user with memories corresponding to the world exists. Most people would never try this seal because no one knows exactly how much will change. Because the time strings clash into each other every repeat, the world gets more and more different from how it was before, and the user might find that in this new world, none of his friends were born," Naruto almost ran out of breath. He wasn't used to talking for so long.

"Where did you learn about all this? Who told you? Did you read it in some sort of forbidden book?" Kakashi asked.

"I'm getting to it. What I wanted to tell you is that someone has cast the seal for the Reset of the World. The time seal is currently in effect. You don't recall anything because you have no memories of the future, before the world reset. But…since I have the Kyuubi, which came from the Ten Tails, I still have my memories, and I am back in my eleven year old self's body. I need your help to stop the trigger before the reset happens again."

There was a long period of silence, before Kakashi finally spoke.

"I have no idea what to think of that, and I probably won't until you show proof. But why are you telling _me _this?"

"Because I know you well, in the future. We spent a lot of time together, and I know how strong you are," he answered truthfully, "as for proof…what do you suggest?"

"Hm…" Kakashi was serious now, the lazy look was gone, "is there anyone else that you've told about this?"

"No, but there are other people who are aware of it. The other Jinchuuriki, or at least the ones who interact with their bijuu, are all informed of the time seal," Naruto stated, "currently the ones easiest to contact are Suna's Gaara, Kumo's Yugito Nii, and Killer B. They hold the ichibi, nibi, and hachibi. If you can contact them, they will confirm it."

Kakashi considered, tapping his chin.

"You're probably wondering why you would need to go to the trouble of confirming if I happen to be lying. Well, I can tell you things that I shouldn't know, things that will happen in the future. I already know that my father was Yondaime-sama, and that I hold the Kyuubi. I can tell you that I'm very familiar with Ero-Sennin – I mean Jiraiya-sensei – who I plan to confide in as well. I'm planning on asking him to help me contact the other Jinchuuriki so we can all stop the trigger."

_Don't forget, it won't be easy brat, _Kyuubi added again, _Time doesn't like to be disrupted, chances are that it will somehow try to pull the trigger because that's the natural flow. That's why the resets can be expected to happen often if left alone. You have to disrupt the natural flow of time._

Naruto inwardly nodded, and watched Kakashi's expression. The jonin was staring at the ceiling.

"Jiraiya-san? I think he will be arriving in Konoha next week sometime. What is this trigger anyway? And who invoked the time seal? Forgive me if I'm having trouble wrapping my head around this," Kakashi turned back to him, "it sounds strange coming from Uzumaki Naruto, number one Orange Ninja."

"The trigger is the destruction of the Rinnegan."

There was silence.

"The person who used the seal was Uchiha Madara."

There was some more silence. Maybe it wasn't such a great idea to tell him everything at once.

"You mean to say that the legend of the Rinnegan is real? And that somehow Madara – who lived in Senju Hashirama's days – is still alive?"

"He is in a group called the Akatsuki…and the Rinnegan is real. It's held by Nagato, their leader. I fought Nagato while protecting Konoha, and convinced him that true peace was possible. He then decided to retreat, and used his power to bring back the dead Konoha citizens. He used whatever was left to destroy his body so that Madara would not be able to take his eyes," Naruto explained.

Kakashi rubbed his exposed eye, "this is a little…much. I've been trying to sense if you are lying, but the ability to lie easily doesn't seem to be something you possess," his sharp, ANBU-trained brain was whirring in action, "When Jiraiya-san arrives, I will talk with him. He has seals that he can use to see if you really speak the truth. If you are from the future, you must also be capable of jutsu beyond your genin level."

Naruto winced, "my body is still eleven, so my taijutsu isn't great. I can perform the sage mode, but I need Ero-sennin's toad contract for that. Other than that, I can do the Rasengan and its various forms."

"Rasengan?..." As a member of Team Minato, he was very familiar with the technique. He had learnt it from Jiraiya, but it was impossible to think that eleven-year-old Naruto could perform it, "show me."

Naruto nodded and held his hand out, slowly allowing his chakra to pool into his hand as he focused on the swishing motion needed. He had only just learned how to do it without a clone, but it would seem much more impressive. The sphere of blue chakra built up in his hand until it was full-sized.

"Rasengan!" He yelled. Only for dramatic effect, of course. He had no wish to destroy any of Kakashi's furniture, so he let the chakra slowly dissipate into the atmosphere.

The jonin watched him with a neutral face. Finally, he sighed.

"We are going to find Jiraiya-san and see if any of what you say is true," he stood sharply and gestured for Naruto to follow him.

"Great!" The blond boy exclaimed, "I get to see Ero-Sennin!"

"He won't be too happy with that name," Kakashi muttered.

**ooooo**

**This is a rather short chapter, but the average word count beyond chapter 10 is 8,500 ^^, so I suppose the size increases rather drastically. **

**Please review, I'm re-editing these chapters while I work on chapter 38, and it would be great if I had some feedback ^^!**


	3. Retrieval of the Toad Sage

**Chapter 3 – Retrieving the Toad Sage**

Naruto looked forward with a determined look on his face. A white-haired old –ahem, middle-aged – man looked back dryly.

"Come again?"

_Two Hours Ago:_

"Target spotted. I'll go on," a masked jonin casually entered the onsen holding a certain book. Getting the target's ego up high would benefit them in the long run. He left Naruto behind on one of the benches outside the establishment as he closed the door behind him. Naruto sighed. Apparently he felt that it would be best for what looked like a young, eleven-year-old boy to _stay out _of their personal mission to retrieve the toad sage from his most likely location. Having known the man for over six years, he understood the rationale behind it perfectly.

He sighed and sat down on the bench, preparing for another talk with Kyuubi. He'd gotten more used to being able to speak with him without knocking himself out, and no longer needed to talk out loud to portray his voice to his prisoner. Suddenly, he had a thought.

_Oi, Kyuubi, _he began, _what's your name?_

There was a moment of silence in his mind as the beast digested the question.

_Why on earth do you want to know that?_

_I can't keep calling you Kyuubi, can I? Gaara's ichibi is named Shukaku, so you have a name like that too, right? _He grinned,_ it would be really nice if I knew your name. Then I could stop calling you by your tails. _

The fox growled in his cage, but it slowly realized that it _was _quite demeaning to be constantly referred to by one's number of appendages.

_Kurama. _

_Your name?_

_Yes, brat. My name is Kurama. _

Naruto pondered, _it's a nice name. Doesn't suit you at all, but it's a nice name. _

Inside his head, Kurama growled, _is there a point to this, brat? Or are you just trying to infuriate me?_

_I'm curious about you, _Naruto admitted, _I want to be like B. He works well with hachibi, and I want us to be like them. _

_No chance, brat. I'm only helping you to get out of the time seal. The Rikudo Sennin did not spend his life creating such a powerful technique for it to be used by some random fool who thinks he can succeed him. No one will ever be able to succeed him. It is impossible._

…_Can I ask you questions, though?_

_If you are truly so bored, then fine, _Kurama said through his teeth.

_Who was your first Jinchuuriki?_

_My first jailer was a human woman named Uzumaki Mito. _

_Ah! Uzumaki! So you've been in my family for so many years, we're practically related!_

_Stop fooling yourself, brat. _

_I even have the whisker marks on my face because you were in my mother while I was in her womb! We're like brothers! Ero-sennin told me that. What was Mito-san like?_

_She was…a proud and quiet human, _Kurama began after a sigh, _we did not interact much. Actually, I only remember one time she ever willingly spoke to me. It was when I was first imprisoned within her. She came up to me and stood next to my cage as listened and waited as I…expressed my dislike of the situation. Finally she spoke to me, and said something along the lines of _'only hatred will come from your power. Stay tranquil deep inside me'. _She never said another word to me. _

Naruto considered his Great-grandmother's words, feeling a shiver run through him. They sounded like the words of someone who was truly wise, and yet…if he had to use Kurama's power to protect his precious people, he knew he wouldn't hesitate. Then it occurred to him that the second Jinchuuriki had been his mother, and so Kurama would have known her as well.

_Kurama, tell me about my mother, _he asked immediately.

_Ah. The Red Hot-Blooded Habanero. She had the largest reserves of chakra that I had ever seen in a human, and so she rarely needed to use my chakra. There was a few times where she did. Naturally, I disliked her – she was my jailer – so I tried to take over her mind. _

_However, the amount of chakra that she rarely took was so little that it wasn't nearly enough to allow me any control. The most she ever needed to use was half a tails worth, and it was extremely rare that her own chakra would even come close to being depleted. At those rare times, upon noticing that my chakra was slipping though, she would come to my cage with her red hair on end looking like some kind of demon, and would yell at me to stay out of her way. Uzumaki Mito had told her that love was the key to maintaining control over a bijuu – which is a ridiculous notion – and the Habanero was convinced that her love for the fast blond one would give her full control over me. It didn't, by the way. Her control over me was due to her ridiculously large chakra reserves. _

Naruto smiled at the thought of his mother yelling at the Kyuubi. It was nice to know that both his parents had been such amazing people. The Yellow Flash and the Red Hot Blooded Habanero leading to the creation of the Number One Orange Ninja, the thought made him chuckle.

_Are you quite finished your silly reminiscing? _Kurama's dry voice interrupted your thoughts, _or would you like to spend another thirty minutes waiting for your sensei?_

_Thirty minutes? _Naruto looked around, finally noticing that it was true. Sensei had been gone for a while. Maybe it was time to step in. He got up from the bench outside and walked into the onsen, waving away the people who offered him massage services.

The place he would most likely find Ero-sennin was obvious. He walked over to the room outside the women's baths and scouted the area around it for possible spying locations. Finally, he noticed a few small holes in the opposite wall, which lead to the men's change room. Sighing, he made his way around the building and entered the room, prepared to see Jiraiya and Kakashi arguing.

"That one. Right there. With the short black hair. Perfection exemplified."

"Ahh good taste Kakashi. But I'm afraid to say….you are still a novice."

"Eh?"

"You missed the one sitting in the far side of the pool, my pupil. The blond woman. With that chest, she could compete with Tsunade!"

"What about…that one. She just stepped out of the bath and has her back turned to us. I think she's talking with Short Black Hair. Not very large, but look at that lean physique…"

"No no, the blond is definitely the queen of the show. Look at all the other girls looking at her chest. Sometimes, even other women are able to acknowledge greatness."

"Ah, pink hair, that's unique. Almost like one of my adorable new students."

"Stay still, I think Blond might even turn towards us. Imagine a show like that!"

"…oh my, I think that _is_ Sakura-chan."

"SENSEI!" Naruto erupted, "What are you doing?!"

Kakashi turned around to see a fuming Naruto standing in the doorway. "Naruto-chan, you're too young to be hearing this. Please wait outside," he said with a sweet smile that was just the slightest bit condescending.

"And WHAT was that you said about Sakura-chan?"

"Calm down kid, there's nothing wrong with a little unrequited teacher-student stuff. That was actually the plot about my first best seller; Icha Icha – "

"Shut up Ero-sennin! I haven't even started with you yet," the blond yelled.

Kakashi sighed, "calm down Naruto, I assure you that I mean nothing towards your team mate. Jiraiya-san is the author of my favorite books – "

"I'm perfectly aware! I know you well, sensei! And him too!"

"Ero-sennin? That's a new one. Hmm…I kind of like it. It has a nice ring to it. Just don't say that in front of any of the ladies," Jiraiya looked at him contemplatively, "but don't take me lightly, boy. As I'm sure you've figured out, I am one of the Legendary Sannin."

"Mou…let's take this outside. It would not end well if a certain girl in the next room overheard us…" Kakashi rubbed the back and his head nervously.

_Currently, in Naruto's room:_

"I'm serious, Ero-sennin," the blond ninja said with a determined look on his face, "and I need your help."

Jiraiya slowly took down the seals from Naruto's forehead. He had placed them the moment they entered the room, saying that they would detect any or ill will as long as Naruto was willing to have himself tested. He didn't say anything for a while, and then sighed.

"The seal confirmed that you were not lying, but there's no real way for us to know about this – "

"The other Jinchuuriki know! Ask them!" Naruto insisted, "I have no idea where Yugito Nii is, and Killer B is the Raikage's own brother so he's not very accessible, so go and find Gaara, Jinchuuriki of the ichibi. He'll tell you the exact same thing."

"The one from Suna, eh? I can do that, but make it worth my time," Jiraiya decided, "tell me about this 'me' you know in the future."

"I left Konoha to travel with you while you taught me ninjutsu like Rasengan and fuuinjutsu like the toad summoning seal. Later on, I went to train at Mount Myoboku and heard the prophesy from the Elder, and that you would teach the child of prophesy. It has to have been Otou-san, Nagato, or me, and I was the only one left alive and not turned traitor," he explained.

"Later on, you died fighting Nagato, who goes by Pein, and he attacked Konoha. I fought him and finally convinced him that your dream of peace was possible, and he used this strange jutsu that brought everyone who had died back to life. Before he died, he decided to destroy his own body with whatever power he had left, and that's what caused this situation," Naruto spilled out the words, not caring about order or consistency. Ever since he had seen Lee perform the Kawarimi, he had been slightly on edge.

Jiraiya listened to it all in silence. He was out of pervert-mode and in legendary-sannin mode, and that was not something to be taken lightly. Finally, he nodded.

"I will ask Gaara-san to come someplace close to Konoha after I've spoken with him, and then we will meet there. This is a serious situation; it would be wise to contact all the other Jinchuuriki who know of this," he turned to Kakashi, "take care of the kid, then. I'll see you soon."

And then he was gone. Naruto wasn't even aware that Jiraiya could use shunshin. There was silence in the room again.

"So. Is there anything you can do before Jiraiya-san arrives?" Kakashi finally asked.

"No. I'm not nearly powerful to do anything by myself, and even if you help me, Nagato isn't someone to be taken lightly. It took me an earth-shattering fight and half a village dying to convince Nagato last time. I don't think I'll have the same success if I just show up at the Akatsuki hideout and ask to book an appointment with him. We'll have to find someway to capture him, and then we can take out time to convince him to join us," Naruto explained, "and we have to avoid coming face to face with Madara Uchiha at all costs. He's powerful beyond belief to have used that seal."

"So it's a retrieval mission, is it?" the jonin rubbed his head, "in Amegakure. A village known for its hatred of Konoha. But I think I can sneak in given enough preparation."

"No one can sneak into Amegakure," Naruto shook his head, "it rains every moment, and each droplet has Pein's chakra in it, allowing him to know exactly who is in the city. Within those walls he is a god. Entering Ame was Ero-sennin's greatest mistake."

"Exactly who is Pein and who is Nagato? You use the names interchangeably."

"The person's name is Nagato, but he is unable to leave the room where he controls his chakra. With the Rinnegan, he is able to control the Six Paths of Pain, which show themselves as six people. The leader, Deva Pein, is the one who acts as Nagato's connection with the outside world," Naruto explained, "we have to get past the Six Paths of Pain before we can reach Nagato. And that is no easy feat, I had to let Kyuubi out to defeat him."

"You…let the fox out? Broke the seal?"

"It was re-forged, but yeah. Kyuubi took over," Naruto rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment, "even Yamato-taicho couldn't re-seal it."

"Yamato?..."

"You know him as Tenzou," Naruto explained, "he was in ANBU."

"Ah, Tenzou. I remember him. The Mokuton boy," Kakashi rubbed his chin, "you do know quite a lot for an eleven year old boy. This is slowly becoming easier to believe. It's…strange that you know so much about me while I only met you a day ago." Kakashi stood up.

"Well. Jiraiya-san is formidable but it will still take him a few days to locate this Jinchuuriki. I'm going to go read. You can do whatever young time travelers do these days," he left the room, taking a book out of his pocket.

Naruto sighed. He still had the rest of the evening to spend. Suddenly, he had an idea. He leapt up from the bed and rushed out of the doorway, quickly leaving the jonin apartment compound.

As he walked down the streets of Konoha, he chatted with Kurama, something that was starting to become somewhat of a habit. The fox was usually bored, and didn't hesitate to indulge his questions.

_Kurama, _he began, _You've already told me about Uzumaki Mito and my mother. What about the Rikudo Sennin himself? What was such a powerful person like? _

Kurama sighed, _you are becoming a little too curious. I'm starting to miss the brat that just left me alone._

Despite his words, Naruto knew that the fox was glad to have the disruptions to his boring existence inside the cage. _Madara seems to know so much about him. It's only fair that I know as well if I want to fight him one day. _

_Rikudo Sennin was…it's not easy to describe someone like him. When we were first separated into the bijuu, he was someone unreachable. He could never be considered 'kind' in the same way as Uzumaki Mito, and yet there was kindness in him. He was nothing like Uchiha Madara, but raw power emanated from his every pore. He was a scholar, a warrior, and a leader, everything at the same time. _

_He was the kind of person that could have never been young, and could never grow old. If he wanted, he could have easily made himself immortal and ruled over the world, but he was wise enough to understand that it was not the path for him. So he began the existence of shinobi and left the world to itself, slowing retreating once he made sure the world would prosper. No one knows how – if – he died. One day, he simply left us; telling us that his time was over and that eventually, a person would arise that would reunite us and rule over the world as he could have. _

_This person…could it be Madara?_

_No. Maybe Madara will succeed in bringing back the Jubi, but he will never succeed the Sennin. He is not the one, all of the bijuu can feel that he is not the one. _

Naruto considered this deeply, but he didn't reply to the beast. He had reached his destination. He stood in front of a simple apartment door. It was one of the flats that many of the shinobi students who specialized in an academic area of study such as fuuinjutsu stayed in. Each apartment in the compound had only three rooms; a bedroom, kitchen/sitting room, and a single bathroom.

It was located on the outside of the compound, giving it windows that overlooked the training grounds below. Naruto peered through one of the windows that had its curtains thrown open. He had a clear view of a small, simple kitchen, a plain sitting room with a single sofa against a wall, and a table in the middle clearly meant for both eating and working. While the chairs around the table were well used, the sofa had a thin layer on dust on one of the cushions.

It was as if the owner had cleaned it well a long time ago, and then assumed that it would stay clean if he just left it alone. The entire room had the look of being inhabited by someone who tried his best to live in a clean area, but was completely unversed in the art of homemaking.

He knocked on the door loudly, knowing that the owner would be inside.

A few seconds later, one Uchiha Sasuke opened the door. He was dressed in his usual Uchiha clan clothing and had a curious expression on his face. Not many people knew where he lived, and he didn't get many visitors. The moment he saw Naruto standing in the doorway the curiosity turned to annoyance.

"Sasuke! You're here! Awesome!" Naruto rushed into the doorway without waiting for a welcome, taking advantage of the Uchiha's momentary shock at seeing him.

"Dobe! What are you doing here! Get out!"

"Mou…your place is so boring. White walls, boring furniture – "

"At least it's not a pigsty like yours!"

Naruto rubbed the back of his head and looked at him sheepishly, "well, my place was pretty bad…but I moved out now. I live with Kakashi-sensei!"

For a moment Sasuke looked at him in disbelief. Since Naruto had known him for years, he alone was able to detect the smallest pang of jealousy.

"Ch. The poor man, why'd you have to put another person's life through hell with your presence?" He finally said.

"He invited me. I don't know why, but it's awesome! I live right next to the training grounds, just like you."

"Whatever, dobe. Why are you here? Get out of my house immediately," Sasuke resorted to trying to catch him an throw him out of the door but Naruto was fast, and avoided the grab, instead jumping over to seat himself on one of the chairs in the sitting room.

"Well, Kakashi-sensei said that the most important part of being on a four-member-team is teamwork, and that I have to get to know my team mates well. Sakura's parents are home right now…so going over there would be slightly awkward. So I decided to come here and keep you company!" He leaned his chin into his hands and looked around, inspecting the room some more.

"That doesn't give you any reason to barge in here uninvited!" Sasuke yelled. It was comical, seeing the famous Uchiha lose his cool for a moment. Naruto was willing to bet that he was the only person who had ever set foot in the place. Sasuke lived off the Uchiha funds he had inherited, and had found place for himself once he had decided not to live in the Uchiha estate anymore; the place held bad memories. Since he didn't make friends, there was no one who would ever need to enter his house.

"Fine, teme. But you can come to Kakashi-sensei's place and I'll show you around," Naruto shrugged. Sasuke looked like he was about to protest, but he bit his lip. He was probably curious about the jonin-sensei's house, and he wasn't about to ruin his chances to get closer to the powerful Copy-nin of the Sharingan. Even if it meant he had to put up with the Dead Last.

"And then after that I'll bring Sakura over here!"

"Why? Does it look like I'm in need of another annoying little girl?" the Uchiha remarked.

"Sakura's only a little girl for now, Sasuke," Naruto said, watching him take a seat opposite him at the table, "Kakashi-sensei's already noticed her talent for taijutsu. Soon she's going to be as good as us!"

"Us? What's 'us', dobe? She'll never be as good as me, and she's already surpassed you."

"Just you wait and see Sasuke," Naruto stuck his tongue out, "as sensei said, I have a talent for seeing talent. So what do you do in here anyway?"

"None of your business."

"Aww don't be like that. We're supposed to be teammates, remember? I have high hopes for us; we have to be the most powerful team Konoha has ever produced. Many people already expect that from us, seeing as we're the students of Kakashi-sensei. And to work together, we have to know each other!" He pounded the table to emphasize his idea.

Sasuke sighed a long and painful sigh, "I read. I practice. That's it."

"Oh, just like Kakashi-sensei!"

"I don't read ecchi, dobe! I'm not perverted like he is! I read ninjutsu and genjutsu theory and study anatomy and tenketsu, so that I can be ready to fight my brother," he had a one-track mind.

"Ah. You're not much fun. Wanna know what Kakashi-sensei was up to this afternoon? You'll never believe it, but he really is a closet pervert."

"I believe it, dobe, he reads ecchi in front of us while he watches us train," Sasuke drawled.

"Well this is even weirder. He and Ero-sennin – Jiraiya, one of the legendary Sannin – were spying on girls at the bathhouse near the edge of the village! And he spotted Sakura there!"

"Hn," Sasuke didn't show it, but Naruto could tell he was the slightest bit amused.

"Oh! I have an idea. We could impress sensei tomorrow..."

ooooo

It had taken a long, long, while persuading Sasuke to get out of his house for the evening, but finally the idea of learning chakra control techniques had been too much for the Uchiha boy to resist. He had reluctantly accompanied Naruto out of his apartment and down the street to the smaller residential area where the civilians lived. They currently stood in front of the door to the Haruno household.

Sakura's house was larger than either of theirs, but she still had a family to live with so it wasn't surprising. What was surprising was the sheer amount of mundane that her house signified. It was the most typical family house either of them had ever seen. Naruto vaguely remembered that her family owned a clothing business.

"Go ahead and knock," Naruto said sheepishly.

The Uchiha stared, "why don't you?"

"Because…my knuckles hurt from knocking on yours. Just do it, teme!"

"You knocked on my door almost half an hour ago! Fine!" Sasuke reached forward and gave the door a sharp rap. In a few seconds, it slowly opened inwards.

Naruto was expecting to see either Sakura's father, because he had always been the one to open the door when he had visited her in the past. There would then be a rather awkward moment between them as he asked if the man's daughter was in. Sakura's father would look at him like was being asked to hand a diamond over to a servant-boy.

This time, Naruto was ready. He subtly pushed Sasuke up to the front, hoping the boy would make a better impression on Sakura's father.

However, the tall man he had expected to see did not open the door. Instead, it was opened by a young girl who couldn't have been any older than seven. The girl had pink hair that was cut stylishly into a chin-length cut with full bangs, and wore a knee-length frock.

Naruto stared at her in shock.

"Who are you?"

"My name is Haruno Saki. You shouldn't knock on people's doors when you don't even know who they are," the little girl harrumphed and crossed her arms, "are you here to try and sell us something?"

"We're here for Haruno Sakura," Sasuke drawled, "tell her she has visitors."

The little pink-haired girl took one look at Sasuke and seemed to melt a little inside.

"Hai! She'll be right out!" Giving him a bright smile – which Sasuke didn't see as he was pointedly staring at the ceiling – she turned around and ran up the stairs.

"Onee-chan! Onee-chan! There are people who want to see you!" They heard her yelling all the way up the stairs.

"Annoying little kid." Sasuke remarked.

"But…Sakura doesn't have a sister…" Naruto stuttered, his mind whirring. Surely this was a little too much?...

When Sakura finally appeared at the top of the stairs, still dressed in her kunoichi clothing but her face glowing from the trip she had taken earlier that day, she took one look at who was in the doorway and ran to them.

"Sasuke-kun!" She yelled. She finally turned around to see Naruto standing there, "and Naruto-baka. What are you doing here?"

"Who was that girl?" Naruto asked, hoping she was some kind of cousin that was staying with Sakura's family for a while.

"Saki-chan is my younger sister," Sakura explained, "why do you look so shocked?"

"YOU have a sister?"

"Ch. Don't listen to the dobe. Apparently we're going to learn chakra control so that we can impress Kakashi-sensei tomorrow. You're coming too," he informed her.

"Let's go!" Sakura squealed, slipping her sandals on and closing the door behind her.

They walked in silence for a little while, before Naruto erupted again.

"A sister? Really?"

Sakura sighed, "well, my parents didn't like it when I decided that I wanted to be a kunoichi, because then there would be no one to take over their business. So when I joined the academy they had another child, and my sister was born."

"Eh? They replaced you?" Naruto asked.

"Well…sort of. It's true that Saki-chan is the hair of my family now, but that's ok because she has to do all the things that I never wanted to do. She has to learn all about our business and go through the arranged marriage to our competitor's son so that it can prosper. It's ok, really. I prefer it this way," she explained.

Naruto's heart sank. Her father hadn't come to the door like he always did when someone asked for his precious little girl. He had just…let her go. In this world, Sakura was an outcast in her own family. He felt another bout of rage towards Madara.

"We're here," Sasuke announced once they arrived at the forest at the edge of the genin training grounds. He turned to Naruto, "Dobe, what are those chakra exercises you saw the other team doing?"

"Well, first they learned how to walk up trees by coating their feet with chakra. Kind of like this," Naruto approached a tree. It would do no good to let them know that he already had chakra control, so he made it seem like he was focusing intently, while he put a single foot on the side of a tree trunk. Slowly, pretending that it was done with great difficulty, he put the other foot up, and wobbled a little for good measure. Upon the fourth step, he pretended to lose his balance and fell to the ground.

"Ow…"

"So the other team was doing that all the way up the tree?" Sasuke looked up at the height of the tree and evaluated it, "by coating their feet with chakra?"

"Yeah. But they had already spent a year as genin, so they were able to do it more easily," he stood up and brushed his pants off, "it'll probably take us well into the night. Sakura, when do you have to be home?"

Sakura looked at him sheepishly, "mou…I can stay for as long as I want. My parents know that…being a kunoichi has lots of responsibilities."

"Let's start then. This tree is mine," Sasuke said with a determined look in his face. He slowly placed a foot on the tree, and ended up carving out a chunk of bark.

"You're using too much chakra, you'll just kill the tree," Naruto told him, "you'll have to use a lot less."

Sakura chose a different tree and did the same. Her first step was partly successful, although she wobbled a little. Slowly and surely, she made it halfway up the tree in almost ten minutes.

In those ten minutes, Naruto and Sasuke alternated between failing miserably and staring at their pink-hair teammate's success.

Finally, after almost half an hour Sasuke was able to take a full five steps, almost a quarter up. Naruto made sure he made exactly as much progress as the Uchiha. Any less would give the teme bragging rights, and any more would send him into a mood. Moody brat.

_Is there any reason that you're purposely harming your behind while pretending to fail at walking up a tree? _Kurama asked cynically from inside his mind. The fox had taken a liking to sleeping recently, and it was always faced with Naruto's curious situations when it woke up.

_I'm teaching my team chakra control exercises, _he informed Kurama.

_Why are you wasting your time like this?_

_I need to make them strong. If they're strong enough they can help me, I trust them. And, well, baby steps. _His mental representation shrugged.

_The female human is doing well. _

_You can call her Sakura-chan, you know. She has a name. _

_Human names mean little to me unless they are powerful, brat. It's rather boring to watch you do these mundane things, you're all very small humans and you clearly can't do anything impressive yet._

_Sakura-chan is a natural because her chakra reserves are smaller, _Naruto explained, _I'm not going to do anything for now because she works well with taijutsu techniques that require little raw chakra. In the future, I'll help her expand her reserves so she can properly use Doton jutsus._

Night was falling, and the three genin decided to take a break. Apart from Sakura, none of them had managed to make it up the tree.

"Ah. That was fun!" Sakura remarked, "Sasuke-kun, I'm sure you'll learn it soon. Maybe even you, Naruto-baka." She had started to speak a little more endearingly with him since he had brought Sasuke to her doorstep.

"You can start learning how to walk on water now, Sakura-chan," Naruto told her, "the other team that I was watching moved on to that after they had practiced tree walking. Use the pond over there," he had conveniently chosen a location near where the river had pooled into a small pond, so that Sakura wouldn't be bored while he and Sasuke continued to walk up trees.

"Oh, that seems fun. But if I fall in I'll get wet…"

"So don't fall in. If you can walk up a tree you can stand on a pond," Sasuke commented dryly. He was lying flat on the ground next to where the two of them were sitting, hands behind his head and looking up at the late evening sky. Naruto knew all too well that he was deeply disturbed by the fact that Sakura could do something that he couldn't, and Naruto was keeping up with him.

Sakura blushed and nodded, "I'll try my best."

Break time finished, they continued with their training. Sasuke got up with the determined look back on his face and eyed his tree once more. Naruto watched him out of the corner of his eye with pride. This was the Sasuke that he had known before Orochimaru had gotten his fangs in the boy and made him turn traitor. Just an innocent but determined boy who had gone through more trauma that he should have.

Naruto kept an eye on both him and Sakura, to make sure she re-surfaced every time she fell in. It was slightly cruel to make her practice in water that was slightly deeper than she was tall, but it would help her learn faster. Kakashi had set her on a puddle before, and she had taken almost six hours to get it right. This time she would improve sooner. It was almost ten o'clock after all, and even though the summer kept the sky still a little bright, they couldn't stay all night.

Finally, he heard a yell from Sakura.

"I did it!"

Both boys turned around to see Sakura standing on the surface of the water, wobbling just the slightest bit. She was completely soaked from head to toe, but the expression on her face was so ridiculously happy that even Sasuke lessened his frown upon seeing it.

"So did I. And the dobe." Naruto realized that he had been keeping such a close eye on Sasuke to make sure they were at the same level that he hadn't noticed they had made it completely up the tree.

"Yes!" He yelled in triumph, "Kakashi-sensei is gonna be shocked!"

"'Shocked' is a rather strong word. However, I am pleased," a voice shouted from below them. Both of them grabbed a branch to prevent themselves from falling and turned around to see Kakashi on the ground, looking up at them with his hands in his pockets.

"Sensei!" Sakura said when she turned around, "when did you get here?"

"I came here a few minutes ago and saw you making progress. You seemed to be almost there so I watched for a little while," he turned to Naruto, "Naruto, I'm not sure how late you usually sleep but if you get into trouble under my watch, Sandaime-sama might just _accident _me. Make sure you let me know if you're going to be back late."

"Sure!" Naruto said, slowly inching his way down the tree as Sasuke was doing.

"You three are full of surprised indeed," Kakashi said when all three of the genin were standing in front of him, "Naruto, let's walk Sakura-chan and Sasuke-kun home. Sakura will catch a cold if she's out here soaking wet and Sasuke isn't dressed for the night chills."

"Hai, sensei!" Naruto agreed. His heart stirred with pride for both his teammates, and maybe there was some inkling of pride for his hentai of a teacher as well.

**ooooo**

**I'm looking back editing these, and I've noticed they're much shorter than the later chapters. But maybe it's just me that thinks 6,000 words is short. **

**Review, please ^^!**


	4. The Son of the Kazekage

**Chapter 4 – The Son of the Kazekage**

For the next five days, Naruto had little to do but continue with his life as a genin. Slowly, he settled into a routine. He would wake up in the morning, yell at his sensei for having yet against forgotten to stock his fridge with actual food before gulping down cup ramen, and then head to the training grounds after Kakashi was kidnapped by Gai and taken to whatever breakfast place the jonin team was frequenting. He would head to training ground four first, and usually spar with either Lee or Tenten. Neji still refuse to grant him the honor of fighting him. Especially after his Oiroke trick.

At around seven, he would meet Sakura and Sasuke at the bridge and head to Team Seven's grounds. There, he and Sasuke would perform chakra control exercises while Sakura practiced taijutsu katas. She was nowhere near as graceful as Neji or as swift and deadly as Lee, but she was developing her own style, raw and powerful.

Team Ten, their team did not have a long-range fighter; all of them were close range fighters, with the exception of Sasuke, who if necessary could switch to mid-range using his katon jutsu. So instead of sorting them by formation, Naruto decided that he wanted to sort them by fighting style.

Sakura was obvious. Her specialty was definitely going to be taijutsu. However, with her delicate chakra control, Naruto decided that she would also prosper well with Genjutsu. When he had asked Kakashi to team her, the man had laughed a little at the thought of someone who used both genjutsu and taijutsu, but had quickly agreed after Naruto had hinted at how well he knew her.

Sasuke was slightly different. In reality, he was well above average for his age in both taijutsu and ninjutsu, but Naruto decided that once he had the Sharingan to help him, his genjutsu skills would far surpass his talent at taijutsu. So once he had awakened the Sharingan, he would be their genjutsu-ninjutsu fighter.

Naruto himself had little to no talent at genjutsu apart from dispelling it, so he placed himself in as a taijutsu/ninjutsu specialist. He also planned on learning more about his parent's specialty in fuuinjutsu. He knew from what Ero-sennin had told him that he had the talent to become a fuuinjutsu master, but even otherwise, knowledge of fuuinjutsu was extremely handy in dealing with traps or barriers. In this way, their team was perfectly divided.

After Kakashi arrived, he would make them run laps around the grounds, and then set them sparring against each other. He would usually make Naruto spar with Sasuke, but occasionally he paired Sasuke up with himself to see how well Sakura would do against Naruto's growing speed.

Then they would usually have lunch at whatever place looked interesting, and Sakura and Naruto would somehow convinced Kakashi to pay for him. The Uchiha heir, however, refused to let anyone pay for his food. Proud idiot.

They would train until three, when Kakashi usually dismissed them and headed to his apartment to read. He had recently started to expand his literature, although they still saw him with Icha Icha most of the time, sometimes he would settle down with a sappy romance from another author. However, everything he read still had a significant dose of ecchi. There had been one time where he had picked up a book about an unrequited romance between two colleagues who were supposed to be completely platonic. For a few weeks at least, he had eyed Kurenai in a new light.

Instead of going to his room at Kakashi's house, Naruto had taken to following Sasuke home, slowing beating his presence into the moody Uchiha boy until he had decided to sigh and accept it. Sometimes they would take Sakura and go to train, but mostly they just stayed in Sasuke's sitting room, with Naruto flipping though Sasuke's family's jutsu scrolls that had been retrieved from the Uchiha grounds while Sasuke read in silence.

Finally, almost a week later, Kakashi came to Naruto's room at ten in the night, holding a letter in his hand.

"We have mail," he chimed, sitting down on the chair and opening the cover himself.

Naruto looked up from where he had been studying several basic fuuinjutsu scrolls borrowed from the Konoha Shinobi library. The reply from Jiraiya should not have taken so long; it was only a three-day trip to Suna, after all.

Kakashi opened the letter and read it through, handing it to Naruto after he had finished.

_Kakashi and Orange-kun,_

_Your information was correct; the boy does indeed hold the ichibi. I greatly admire how you conveniently forgot to mention that the boy is the son of the Kazekage. Very smooth of you. Luckily, he is cooperative, and he seems to know you well; he has confirmed that you two have memories from the future. However, he did not know about the exact operation of the time seal, so you have some explaining to do. _

_At first it seemed that it would be impossible to take the Kazekage's son out of Suna, but luckily Gaara-san helped me out. Apparently it was a common occasion for him to go on month-long trips into the desert when he felt that Ichibi was breaking out, and his father does not mind him doing so. We are currently staying in the place where Jonin-chan stayed overnight during his very first C-rank mission. It is very unlikely that this will be intercepted, but just in case, please watch your tracks._

_Ero-sennin_

Damn it. Now he would have to explain that he was in contact with Kurama… Naruto bit his lip and watched Kakashi anxiously.

"You can tell us when we get there," he remarked, "no we have to find a way to leave some sort of alibi, if only to soothe Jiraiya-san's worries."

"Kage bunshin," Naruto decided, "I'll leave Kage Bunshin behind."

"Mou...really? That's the best you could come up with?" Kakashi rubbed his head.

"I'm serious! I have loads of chakra, so I can usually make hundreds of bunshin that will all last at least ten minutes before they dispel. When I use the same amount of chakra to make just three or four of them, they all become long-lasting bunshin. I used them when I was training for sennin-mode at Mount Myoboku."

"Ah, so you'll leave one clone for each of us?"

"Two, just to be safe. Even though they last a long time, a single hit will still dispel them," Naruto explained, "can we go see Ero-sennin and Gaara-san right now?"

"I don't see why now. It's late evening, so I'm usually reading in the park. You're usually at Sasuke-kun's house, but he won't notice if you're not there for a day. Let's see these clones."

Naruto nodded and formed the clone seal, focusing a large amount of chakra.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

Four clones appeared in front of him, they were all Narutos.

"Henge!"

Two of the clones burst into a little cloud of smoke. When they cleared, two Kakashis were in their place. They rubbed the back of their head in simulation of the real thing.

"Ah, not bad. Now all they need is a copy of Icha Icha," the real Kakashi decided.

"No! When they're dispelled all their memories get transferred to me. I'm not reading those perverted books," Naruto crossed his arms and turned to the Kakashi clones, "don't go anywhere near his bookshelf, got it?"

"Yes boss," they both replied, causing the real Kakashi to shiver a little at what his voice was saying.

"Yes. Just…stay in the park, find a nice bench and...watch the clouds. That's what I do when Gai tries to take away one of my books," Kakashi instructed them. The two clones nodded, and turned to Naruto.

"I'll leave after you. Boss, where should we hide Backup?" One clone said, referring to the other.

"Er…Kakashi-sensei's closet."

"What?" The jonin asked.

"Well, it would be sort of weird if you hid in my closet…"

"Why does it need to be a closet?"

"Well, where else? It has to be somewhere in your apartment because that will be seen as most natural, and the sitting room is probably invaded by Gai-sensei on a daily basis since he knows where you put your key. So it has to be somewhere in your room. The closet is the largest area," Naruto explained.

Kakashi blinked, "that does make some sort of sense…"

"You two!" Naruto instructed the clones of himself, "Backup hides in my closet, while Main stays in this room reading the rest of these scrolls. Begin."

"Yes boss!"

"We can go now, they'll take care of things," Naruto insured him.

"They had better…"

ooooo

When Naruto and Kakashi arrived in the middle of a forest clearing outside of Konoha after leaving through a special exit Kakashi had used while in ANBU, Jiraiya was waiting. Next to him was a small, red-haired boy.

"Naruto," Gaara greeted, nodding in his direction, "I hear that you are the same?"

"Yes," Naruto walked forward and took a seat on the grass next to him, "I have all the memories."

"That is good." Gaara closed his eyes and seemed to visibly relax, "when I arrived here and realized my father was Kazekage again, I thought I had finally lost my sanity. I was relieved when Jiraiya-san arrived to see me."

"Kid was sitting in the sand at the edge of the village," Ero-sennin sheepishly rubbed his head, "he wasn't hard to find. At first he almost killed me with his sand, but I managed talk to him. I decided it would be best if the Kazekage didn't know his country's weapon had been taken by Konoha, so he went back in and told Kazekage-sama that he would be staying in the desert for a while. We traveled here through the smaller villages with Gaara under henge."

"That's good. Gaara, has Shukaku spoken to you?" Naruto asked the boy.

Gaara considered the question, "she has…expressed her dislike of the situation. Other than that, she has not given me any information. She is not cooperative."

"What? What are you two talking about, Shukaku the Ichibi speaking to Gaara?" Kakashi asked sharply.

Naruto sighed, "It's probably time you knew how I know about the time seal. I didn't figure that out on my own, there isn't a single scroll in existence that details how it works; I think even Madara himself didn't fully understand it. The Kyuubi told me."

There was a moment of silence in which Kakashi and Jiraiya stared at him in shock while Gaara regarded them calmly.

"What? You speak to the fox?" Jiraiya burst out.

"His name is Kurama…"

"How do you know that anything he says is correct? He's a demon, Naruto, he can't be trusted," Kakashi put a hand on his shoulder and watched him closely.

"I know, I know that," Naruto began, "he doesn't trust me, and I don't completely trust him. But there is something that I know about him that can't be false. Despite all his hatred, he has a large amount of respect for the Rikudo Sennin. He doesn't like that someone is using his master's seal carelessly, and so he's agreed to help me break the trigger."

"But still…"

"I vouch for Naruto," Gaara spoke up. The powerful tone of speech that he had developed upon becoming Kazekage seemed strange coming from the mouth of a young boy, "he has a talent for judging character. If he believes that the Kyuubi will help us, then I believe so as well."

"Do you know Orange-kun well, Gaara-san?" Jiraiya asked. It hadn't escaped Naruto's attention that Ero-sennin hadn't given the boy a silly nickname like he did with everyone else and still referred to him as Gaara-san. The toad sage could sense that the boy was someone important, at least in the future.

"Yes. Naruto is the one who validated my existence," his green eyes showed a deep wisdom that clashed with his young looks, "he did so by telling me that it had no reason to be validated. I trust his opinion."

Ero-sennin moved back a little, slightly disturbed by the boy's intensity, "that is one deep kid," he muttered so that only Kakashi could hear.

The white-haired jonin sighed, "fine. Kyuubi – Kurama – might as well be of use. However, I can't afford to allow him to be let loose on the village once more. Naruto, I will have a certain ANBU guard you at all times," he gave Naruto a knowing look, "and he will follow you everywhere unless you are with me or Jiraiya-san."

Naruto nodded, happy to have gotten way so lightly. Then he turned to Gaara with a serious expression. It took him almost fifteen minutes to explain the time seal to the boy. Gaara was a good listener. He soaked in the information carefully and never needed to have anything repeated. At the end of the explanation, he nodded carefully.

"We must find a way to retrieve Nagato, then. But it will be difficult. I have seen the damage left from your fight with him," Gaara concluded.

"Well of course he's tough, he beat me after all," Jiraiya crossed his arms, "how close did I come to defeating him before I…died?"

Naruto sighed, "I've told you that Nagato controls the Six paths of Pain. You were able to defeat one of the paths."

There was silence as Jiraiya digested the information. A slow feeling of fear crept up on him at the thought of the man's power, because he knew his own strength _very well. _

"You sent the Path you had killed to us to analyze. That helped a lot. During my own battle, I wasn't able to defeat Deva Pein. I had to let Kurama out, and even he had a hard time with Deva Pein's Chibaku Tensei. The amount of power that man has is absolutely monstrous," he looked up to see the concerned faces, "but we have something on our side," he added, determined to cheer them up, "we know that deep inside, Nagato still believes in the idea of peace. Deep inside, he loses his notion that pain is the absolute ruling force of the world, and wishes that a savior would appear."

"It's you, then. You're the one the prophecy speaks of," Jiraiya finally said, "I was to be the teacher of the one who would rescue the world. Minato-kun has died, Nagato is on the path to destruction, and you say that I've been your shishou in the future."

"That's what the Toad Elders thought as well," Naruto rubbed his head, "but prophecies are tricky things. They may even account for the existence of certain jutsus. If I can bring Nagato away from the path of pain and help him become the one who rescues the world, I'll be happy," he said sheepishly.

Jiraiya sighed, "let me speak with him. He is my student, and my responsibility. It was my fault, I should never have left him alone in Ame. I should have brought him with me…I'm a failure as a teacher for letting two of my students die," he sighed, "let's get back to the village so I can find a bottle of good sake."

"You were the best shishou ever!" Naruto suddenly erupted. It tore at his heart to see Ero-sennin admitting a mistake of any kind. Something like that was just not supposed to happen.

"Sure it took a long while and some kind-of-frowned-upon methods to get you to teach me, but the years I spent travelling with you were some of the best times ever! You never gave up on me even thought I was just an annoying kid, and you taught me the jutsu my father had made. Sure I had to drag you out of some rather sketchy places, but you shared your flavored ice with me and bought me new kunai and even tried to teach me how to control the Kyuubi. I had to work ridiculously hard to even come close to surpassing you! I don't need you doubting yourself!"

Jiraiya didn't need to listen too deeply to hear the other words behind his statement. _You took care of me, and that means a lot to someone who's lived alone since he was seven._

Kakashi looked just a little shocked at the sudden outburst and laid a reassuring hand on the boy's shoulder, looking expectantly at Jiraiya.

Slowly, a wide grin began to spread on the toad sage's face. He wasn't a very sentimental person, but ah well, there were firsts for everything.

"Alright then, I suppose I can do this one more time. You'd better live up to my expectations, kid, because since you claim to be such an expert at the Rasengan we're going straight into fuuinjutsu."

Naruto grinned from ear to ear. His old teacher was back.

Gaara watched the exchange with some sort of amusement barely showing on his face, "train well, Naruto. We need to be able to fight him. When Suna received message of your battle, I would have come to aid myself if my advisors did not insist I remain in office."

"Advisors?" Jiraiya asked, amused at – what he saw as – the young boy.

"Correct. I am – or was – the Kazekage of Sunagakure," he replied in a monotone.

"Kazekage?" Kakashi asked incredulously, "you were only seventeen!"

"Correct. I believe I was the youngest Kazekage, and second youngest kage, with the exception of Yagura of Kirigakure," he replied.

"That's…incredible," Jiraiya commented.

"It must not be so hard to believe. Jiraiya-san, you are a kage-level shinobi, and Kakashi-san became an s-rank jonin at the age of thirteen and made his first bingo-book appearance only a year later."

"But still…" Kakashi trailed off, one eyebrow raised in surprise.

"Concerning Nagato," Gaara brought them back on topic, "I do not think it would be wise if go after him right away."

The other three raised their eyebrows.

"Why? Wouldn't it be better if we brought Nagato to our side as quickly as possible?" Jiraiya asked.

"No. Because Uchiha Madara will come after the host of the Rinnegan, and even if we work with all the other Jinchuuriki, he will be extremely difficult to defeat, and we will have to hold him off for almost six years. However, if we work properly, we can use the six-year time limit to our advantage. If we retrieve Nagato at a certain time close to the occurrence of the trigger, then instead of having to fight and defeat Uchiha Madara, we will merely have to hold him off until the final seconds before the trigger passes and the trigger itself is destroyed. Then, the Madara that we once knew will be in his place, and he will have to learn what has happened to the world before he comes for us once again, by which time will be prepared for him," Gaara's stopped to think before moving on, his mind a whir of strategy.

"However, this plan will not work if Madara has the backing of the entire Akatsuki. If so, he will send everyone after us at once instead of risking the loss of the Rinnegan, because we already know the lengths to which he will go in order to retrieve it. We may not be able to hold them all off. The only reason he allowed Pein to attack Konoha last time was because he was certain that no one would be able to defeat Nagato. If he realizes that someone has indeed defeated him, he will not hesitate to set everything in his power upon us."

"I see," Kakashi stroked the chin of his mask, "what do you suggest?"

"We must divide our forces and destroy the Akatsuki members before we go after Nagato. Since we have the advantage of knowing each Akatsuki member's abilities, it will not be terribly difficult if for us to isolate each member and defeat them", Gaara finished, "this has the added advantage of displaying our power to Nagato, and showing him that we can back our notions of peace with real results. After all, that seems to be what convinced him of Naruto before."

"I can see why you were Kazekage, Gaara-san," Ero-sennin commented, "that _is _a lot better than rushing in and getting it done fast like Orange-kun advised."

"Oi. I said I was strong, but I never claimed to be smart," Naruto stuck his tongue out at his new shishou, "Gaara will be our strategist," he turned to the red hair boy, "I'll tell you about the members of the Akatsuki, and you can decide who we'll send after which member."

"That is preferable," Gaara agreed, "I can afford to stay here for a month before my father will have his men forcefully retrieve me from where he believes I am located in the desert of Suna."

"Where will you stay, Gaara?" Naruto asked him.

"My entering the village would cause problems if I should be found. Instead, I can make myself useful and look for the other Jinchuuriki. Since I can deliver messages with my sand, you all will know of my progress."

"Er, Gaara-san," Jiraiya spoke, "do not forget that you're currently an eleven year old boy. It wouldn't be wise for you to go all by yourself; people may get suspicious. Why don't you wait here until I help Naruto regain his Sage Mode? Seeing as he has the theory down, it shouldn't take more than a week for me to bring him back to his full potential and set him on the track to learning fuuinjutsu. After that, I can accompany you. Since I'm one of the Sannin, I'll have no problems entering any land apart from Ame, and we'll look for the Jinchuuriki together."

Gaara paused to think, and then nodded, "where will I stay? It is unwise for me to enter the village, as our land are not yet allied."

"There is a rest location for travelling shinobi only an hour's run away from Konoha, you can stay there. I'll bring you supplies and food every few days," Ero-sennin suggested.

"But then what about the chunin exams? What are we going to do?" Naruto asked, "we can't afford to waste time on them, but Orochimaru is planning an attack on Konoha…"

"I will not participate," Gaara decided, "Father will attempt to force me, but there is no way to make me participate without my assent. They have nothing to use against me."

"Then I won't nominate my team either. I know the other jonin-sensei are all somehow expecting me to put my students in, but if I step up and insist not to, the other rookie teams will reconsider. That only leaves Gai's team and the other more experienced ones, will they be in any danger?" Kakashi asked.

"No. Orochimaru was dependant on my father sending me in as a weapon, he would not risk a direct attack on Konoha otherwise," Gaara confirmed.

"He'll find another way," Naruto added, "Kurama told me that time is stubborn and tries to follow some semblance of its proper path. The general notion of Orochimaru preparing an attack on Konoha to get Sasuke will still happen, but in a different way."

"Then maybe we should participate in the exams after all…at least then we have the advantage of foreknowledge," Gaara reconsidered, "but for now, we will focus on finding the Jinchuuriki in Kumo."

"Well, that's settled. This is turning out to be a rather large issue…" Kakashi sighed and looked up at the darkening sky.

ooooo

_Two Hours Ago, in Kakashi's apartment:_

Naruto's clone sighed and stared straight ahead. Comparatively, this was one of the most boring assignments Boss has ever given him. He turned to Backup, who had given up on hiding in the closet in pure boredom. Kakashi-Main had already headed out to the park, and Kakashi-Backup was dutifully hiding in the closet. Naruto-Main was stuck in this tiny room.

"Boss didn't even need to call us…" Backup sighed, "now I have to wait for another two hours before I get to know what happened with Gaara…"

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door to Kakashi's apartment. Both clones froze. Backup swiftly concealed himself in the closet, leaving Main wondering if it was all right to get the door. Deciding that at the worst, it could only be Gai-sensei, Main walked out of his room and pulled the front door open.

"Hatake Kakashi's residence, how may I help – Sasuke-kun?!"

It was true. Standing in Kakashi's doorway was the moody Uchiha himself. The boy shrugged and shouldered his way into the apartment.

"Ch. You're even annoying when you're _not _there," The Uchiha said as some sort of reason for his presence, "so, this is sensei's place?"

"Yeah…" Main muttered as he watched the boy take everything in.

"It's small. I thought the Hatake family was well-off."

"They are, but it's not much of a family with only sensei, so there's no need for space. Plus, a lot of the other jonin-sensei live here as well, so he can make himself available for missions more quickly."

"Why would he need to do that? He has to walk all the way to the Hokage's tower anyway," Sasuke walked into the kitchen and looked around, imitating what Naruto had done in his own house only a few days ago.

"Well, he used to be a member of ANBU..."

At this, Sasuke was the slightest bit surprised, "sensei was in ANBU?"

"Yeah, he's pretty awesome, isn't he? I bet he could be Hokage if he tried."

"Ch. Where do you stay?" Sasuke looked around, spotting the two bedrooms leading off the sitting room.

"In that one," Main pointed to Boss's room, "it's clean. See?" He gestured proudly at the dust-and-ramen-cup-free room.

Sasuke eyed the fuuinjutsu scrolls laid out on his bed and turned to see his view onto the training grounds, "hmm. This is convenient. Maybe I should look into an apartment in this compound."

"Well…I let you know if I see any available," Main rubbed the back of his head, desperately hoping the Uchiha would go away. Sometimes, they went out to train. If he challenged the clone to a spar…

"What are you studying?" He went back to the scrolls, picking on up and eyeing its contents. It was just the basics, but fuuinjutsu was an advanced area of study, so it probably looked complicated.

"Hm. Not for dobes," Sasuke put the scroll down, "so dobe, _what do you do here anyway?_" He asked, copying the question that Naruto had first bothered him with.

"Um..well…I read about fuuinjutsu…and sleep…"

Suddenly, Sasuke's inspection reached the closet. He was just about to throw open the sliding door when Main jerked his hand away.

"No! Not in there!" he pulled the Uchiha's hand away, and stood awkwardly while still holding it, "its…um…messy."

"Ah. So that's where the mess went," Sasuke had a glint in his eye that was almost playful. Clearly, all of Naruto's 'softening' projects had slowly begun to work on the stoic boy. He lunged for the closet again.

"No! Get away!"

"Not a chance!"

"Why don't we do something else…like go see Sakura?! I'm sure she must be lonely."

"Sure. Then we can bring her here and you can show her that the messy clothing and ramen cups she saw were stuffed in the closet."

Main increased his efforts in getting the Uchiha boy's hands away from the closet, but it was a dangerous risk. One wrong move and there would be enough pressure to dispel him. He tried to increase his grip around Sasuke's waist, but he could feel the chakra slowly leaving him. Finally, he was forced to let go or dispel. He let go.

Sasuke threw the closet's sliding door, only to see…nothing. A perfectly empty closet. There weren't even any clothes inside, since Boss still hadn't gotten around to unpacking his moving boxes. The boy frowned, and leant inside, looking left and right.

His eyes fell on a shape at the far right of the closet. In a corner, crouched in fetal position with his chin up to his knees and staring right at him, was Naruto.

"Ah!"

The Uchiha partly screamed at the sight and stumbled backward, swiftly taking a kunai out of his pouch and pointing it at the closet. Then he thought twice, and drew another kunai with his other hand, pointing it at Main.

"W-Who are you!"

Backup sighed and stepped out of the closet, raising his hands.

"Calm down Sasuke, I'm a clone."

"You can't be! I didn't see him making any seals!"

"Usually Boss can make hundreds of us, but if he concentrates the same amount of chakra into a few clones, we can last for as long as a few hours," Backup explained.

Sasuke didn't lower the kunai, "I still can't be certain that you are Naruto. Why would Naruto have a clone in his closet?"

Main sighed a long and exaggerated sigh, "suspicious as always. I suppose…I'll have to tell you. You see, I'm working on a new jutsu…"

Sasuke didn't react. The kunai was still held high. Main cringed. He couldn't afford to let that pointy edge anywhere near him.

"And I'm technically not allowed to tell you about it because it's a secret…but since you're such an awesome friend I'll make an exception," he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, and gestured for Backup to come over. Backup nodded and made his way over, realizing what Main was planning. Sasuke kept a close eye on both of them.

"It's a really cool technique invented by Yondaime-sama. It's called Rasengan, and it works by swirling chakra in your hand," Main explained, "'cept I have a hard time concentrating on doing both the chakra supplying and the swirling, so I use clones to perform the jutsu. I'll show you."

Main held out his hand and Backup began scratching at it, slowing shaping the chakra that Main was providing.

"Rasengan!"

The ball of blue chakra was clearly visible and spinning in his hand. Sasuke watched, just the slightest bit impressed. He could sense that the technique used a lot of chakra, and that it was powerful. However, he still didn't lower his kunai.

"So why was your clone in the closet when I came to see you?" He asked, eyebrows raised.

Main sighed. It was time. There was no other way. He took in a deep breath, preparing to slowly scrape together every ounce of dignity he may have owned and cut it all into little pieces.

"Well…it's something that started when I was younger."

"Where are you going with this?" Sasuke narrowed his eyes.

"I'm getting there. You see, when I was young, all the adults avoided me and told their children not to play with me because I played pranks and was a bad influence. So I was really happy when I learnt the kage bunshin jutsu. Some days when I was really lonely and I really wanted to play a group game but had no friends to play with," he looked up with a sad but determined expression, "I played with myself."

"I don't need to know that!" Sasuke yelled, his cheeks turning a light shade of pink.

"Not like that! I meant that I'd make bunshin of myself and play games with them," Main corrected, cheeks burning.

"You couldn't make any bunshin in the academy. They were all failures."

"I couldn't make normal bunshin, but I could make kage bunshin instead, since they require less control," Main weaved the web of lies a little more.

"So what on earth does this have to do with me finding your clone in the closet?"

"Well, one day one of my neighbors was being really mean. He lived in the apartment right next to mine, and since he came back kind of drunk he opened my door instead. He saw me playing cards with my clones and laughed and said it was pathetic. So I didn't want you to ever see me in the same way. But when you came over and I was practicing Rasengan, I couldn't just dispel my clone, I'd already put a lot of chakra into him to make sure he stayed around for a long time so I wouldn't have been able to create another for a while," he sighed a long sigh.

Sasuke silently put his kunai away and regarded the two Narutos standing in front of him.

"Ch, you're still the dobe. You can't get any worse if you tried," he pointedly turned his head away upon seeing Main and Backup's grateful expressions. Coming from Sasuke, those words were rare.

"Awesome! You're the greatest, Sasuke!" Main cheered, "it's getting kinda late and I have to finish work with the Rasengan before my clone runs out. So I'll see you tomorrow, ok?"

Sasuke nodded, "fine. I found a few interesting jutsu in my family's scrolls that aren't fire-related. I want to see if I or you or Sakura can manage them. See you tomorrow, dobe," he gave Main a swift wave and stepped out of the doorway, hands in pockets. Main almost cried tears of relief.

"Boss is going to be so mad at us…" Backup pointed out.

"By the time he knows, we'll be part of him again, so he'll have to be mad at himself," Main retorted, "Kakashi-Main at the park just dispelled, so he must have spotted Boss and Kakashi-sensei returning. I guess our work is done."

ooooo

At the outskirts of the village, Naruto, Kakashi, and Jiraiya were returning from their trip to see Gaara. Naruto and Kakashi were headed to the apartment, while Ero-sennin was headed to the rental place he was staying at while he was in town.

Suddenly, Naruto stopped walking and grabbed his head, wincing for a little while as the memories flooded into him. He looked up and froze, an almost comical expression on his face.

"What's scared you, Orange-kun?" Ero-sennin asked jokingly.

"I'll never be able to look Sasuke in the eyes again, that's what," Naruto whimpered.

After he got over the pure embarrassment, he sighed and gave a little smile at Sasuke's response.

**ooooo**

**Reviews make aspiring writers happy ^_^**


	5. Sasuke of the Sharingan

**The weekend is here, and along with it comes uploading time!**

**Chapter 5 - Sasuke of the Sharingan**

"I don't understand any of this!" Naruto yelled out in exasperation, clutching his head. Some of the other customers in the barbeque place he was occupying looked around at his outburst, and the owners of the place who were going around delivering food looked at his long-cold plate with disapproval and considered throwing him out.

He looked back at the fuuinjutsu scrolls that were spread out on the table in front of him, staring dejectedly at the symbols that made his head spin. It was a free day and he had been sitting in that exact same spot for over three hours, oblivious to anything happening around him. When he had arrived at the place at almost eight in the morning, no one had been there. Barbequed beef was not a breakfast food. However, the place was slowly getting more populated, and he wondered if it would be better to leave and find a more quiet place to study the basics of fuuinjutsu.

"What on earth are you doing?" A high voice spoke up from behind him.

Naruto turned around quickly to see a tall blond girl standing behind him, looking at his scrolls. She reached over his shoulder and rudely pulled one of his scrolls out of his hands. He turned around and sighed, knowing it took a lot to sate her curiousity.

"Is this fuuinjutsu?" Yamanaka Ino asked. "Why would you be reading something like this?"

"Seeing as his family name is Uzumaki, he probably has some kind of talent for it," another voice spoke up. Naruto turned around to see that the table behind him was fully occupied with the members of team ten.

"Naruto has a talent?" Ino asked, wrinkling her nose, "that's surprising."

"Did you know, Ino? The Uzumakis were from Uzushiogakure, the village known for fuuinjutsu," Shikamaru commented.

"Only you would be interested in all that boring history stuff Shikamaru," the blond kunoichi replied with her hands on her hips. In the future she was quite the capable kunoichi, but Naruto winced when he thought about what Shikamaru had to deal with on a daily basis for now.

"Hey Shikamaru, wanna help me with this?" Naruto asked hopefully. The Nara genius probably didn't have any innate talent for fuuinjutsu, but he could definitely make his way through the theory.

"So troublesome…" the boy rubbed his head and stepped out of his chair, walking over to Naruto. He paused for a while, eyes skimming over the text, "this details the basics of what fuuinjutsu is, and basically it talks about how a shinobi's chakra is stored inside the symbols of the seal. Basically, there is a certain level of chakra required to hold the seal, known as the chakra limit. Then there is the amount of chakra the user puts into the seal, known as the sealing chakra. If the sealing chakra is the same as the chakra limit, then the seal will hold until the chakra runs out. If it is smaller than the limit, the seal will not hold. If it is a certain amount larger, the seal will hold indefinitely. If there is too much chakra, the seal will be unstable and it will explode," Shikamaru explained.

"Thanks a bunch! Ero-sennin told me to read up on these before he starts teaching me the practicals," Naruto beamed up at him. Two days ago Jiraiya had allowed him to make his toad-summoning contract, and two of his clones were currently situated at Mount Myoboku gathering natural chakra. Seeing that he was coming along nicely, the toad sage had decided to begin his fuuinjutsu lessons.

"Ero…sennin?" Ino asked, nose wrinkled.

"Well, his name is Jiraiya, and he is my shishou," Naruto explained.

"Jiraiya of the Sannin? The toad sage?" Shikamaru picked up, "I heard he returned to the village. Must be troublesome to work under someone like that."

"Yeah, a little," Naruto admitted, knowing that his shishou was currently somewhere sketchy. He slowly packed his scrolls and held them under his arm, "I'll see you around Shikamaru, Ino," he looked around at the boy who was still stuffing his mouth with barbeque, "Choji."

He left the restaurant, wondering what he could do to pass the time until Ero-sennin came and found him. Sasuke had started to spend his weekend mornings studying like a madman, adamant not to lose an academic battle to the dobe after seeing Naruto with his fuuinjutsu scrolls. Frankly, Naruto had no wish to disrupt him. A smart Sasuke was a useful Sasuke. Instead, he slowly ambled in the general direction of Kakashi's apartment. As he walked, Kyuubi spoke up, seeing that he was not talking to any other humans.

_Have you reached your previous strength, at last?_

_I think so, _he replied, _I have my Sage Mode back, and I can activate it at any second. Two of my permanent clones are staying at Mount Myoboku. My taijutsu is almost as good as it was before, but I'm still a little squishy, _he absentmindedly poked the back of his thigh, frowning a little bit as his finger sank in where before there had been pure, hard muscle. _The training with Lee and Tenten has been helping though, and I'm doing fifty pushups every night before bed. That's a lot harsher than anything I used to do._

_Tell me when you are strong enough. I will show you something that we can do._

Naruto's interest peaked, _you're going to share your power with me?_

_Last time we fought Pein, I had little to no control when you let me out. I did not know how to function in your stead, and as a result I was unsteady. If I can slowly introduce you to my chakra and my presence, I will have more control when you let me out. _

Naruto mentally cringed, _let's not let you out completely like that again for a while. My body ached from head to toe after you did that. _

_It won't hurt so much if you know how to let me use my power properly. It will be similar to what B does. _

_Oh, that does sound helpful. Give me a week ok? I'll be back to speed in no time. I'll even raise my pushup count to one hundred every night. _

_You had better. It will easily take years to destroy Uchiha Madara's entire group. You must be ready, _Kurama decided, curling up under his giant tail and falling asleep, signifying the end of the discussion.

Naruto sighed. Suddenly he felt a hand on his shoulder, and he spun around.

"I've been looking for you, kid," Ero-sennin told him, "Are the clones at Mount Myoboku ready now?"

Naruto nodded, "they've gathered a lot of chakra. They'll be ready to fight at any moment."

"That was…fast," Jiraiya commented, "it's only been a day since Gamakichi summoned you."

"I already leant this, Ero-sennin," he told the older man, "I spent weeks getting the hand of it. Even though my body is eleven again, my mind and chakra control are still the same as they always were."

Jiraiya nodded, "I can see that. Listen, I don't think I can stick around for much longer. Turns out some Konoha shinobi stumbled upon the place where Gaara was hiding. Luckily Gaara was able to hide himself until they left, but he informs he that he doesn't want to stay there much longer, and that we have to use every second of the month that he had away from Suna. After all, there's only three weeks left."

Naruto's spirits sank a little. He understood that their mission was important, but he still regretted not having the chance of being taught fuuinjutsu, "alright."

"Don't look so down, kid. I'll have to set an even faster learning pace for you when I get back, so you had better be ready," he winked at him and ruffled Naruto's hair, "let's go see Gaara and discuss the plans. I've already asked Kakashi-kun to meet us at the place."

ooooo

When they arrived at the travel stop, Jiraiya put a hand in front of Naruto, making him stop. The toad sage walked around the area, slowing picking up pieces of seal-paper from the ground. Naruto found one lying by his foot and picked it up, examining it. It looked deceptively like an ordinary explosion seal, except he could see that a few characters were different. The seal was far beyond his knowledge, but he inferred that it somehow deterred people from entering the ground.

"We can go in now," Jiraiya called, "you weren't around so I couldn't key the barrier seals to your chakra. I've disabled them now."

Naruto nodded, and followed his shishou into the small wooden shed-like structure. Inside there was only one room, though large enough to accommodate all four of them. Gaara was sitting cross-legged with his back against one corner. Surrounding him was a pile of books on one side and a stacked pile of dirty plates on the other. Naruto examined one of the plates.

"Ero-sennin, you've been bringing Gaara ramen…and barbeque…and yakitori…and fried octopus?"

Kakashi, with his rather mundane diet, winced. But Naruto burst into a smile.

"That's great!"

"These creatures you eat are rather digestible," Gaara commented, referring to the beef, "we in Suna have never attempted to eat our camels or desert lizards."

Naruto cringed, "that's a good thing."

"So," Kakashi coughed, "I suppose you two are leaving now. Where will you go first?"

"The obvious choice would be Kumogakure, since they hold two Jinchuuriki. We do not yet know Yugito Nii, but we are slightly familiar with Killer B, the brother of the Raikage. However, he will be hard to retrieve, for the reason that he is he _brother of the Raikage. _So we have to figure out who to begin with," Gaara finished.

"What is this Killer B like? How strong is he?" Kakashi questioned.

"Tako no Ossan is awesome!" Naruto exploded, "he fights with seven swords and has full control over his Jinchuuriki."

"That's settled then, we'll find him first," Kakashi agreed.

"He's also really good at rapping and enka, and he always talked in rhymes!"

"Never mind, I vote for the girl," the jonin changed his mind quickly.

"No. Annoying habits aside, we need strong shinobi on our side," Gaara stated, "someone with chakra reserves as great as those of Killer B will be extremely useful. I have never interacted with him before, but I have heard of him from a meeting with the Raikage. However, there is another problem I must address," he narrowed his eyes, "not all the Jinchuuriki are sympathetic to our cause. Yagura, for example, is simply controlled by Madara from the shadows, and I do not know who the containers of the other beasts are. We cannot depend on them alone to help us. Eventually, we will need to tell other people about this."

Naruto frowned, "but that's not going to turn out very well. I mean, the more people know, the less we can use our advantage of knowing what will happen. So many things have already changed, and it's going to be hard to outsmart Madara without at least some of our foreknowledge."

"We're going to have the hope that the natural resilience of time will cover for our changes," Gaara sighed, "or that whoever we choose to fight with us isn't a very curious person. Do you remember who was able to defeat each Akatsuki member?"

Naruto thought about it, "Kakashi-sensei was holding up well against Kakuzu but I was the one who finished him off, and Shikamaru found a great strategy for defeating Hidan. Other than that…Sasuke was able to defeat Deidara, but that won't be possible now because I'm not letting him get Orochimaru's seal. Asuma-sensei, Kurenai-sensei, and Kakashi-sensei all went up against Itachi and Kisame, but Kakashi-sensei fell into the Tsukiyomi and they had to retreat."

Beside him, Kakashi shivered at his horrible future track record, "putting someone like Kurenai-kun up against Itachi sounds good, since they're both genjutsu-users, but the Mangekyo Sharingan is far more dangerous than anything a genjutsu master can come up with. However, I do know the Mangekyo very well, so I can keep Itachi off if needed."

"Yes, especially since he probably won't actually kill you," Naruto added, knowing that Itachi was secretly a protector of Konoha. He didn't openly mention it, though. That would take some time to get used to.

"We can finalize upon that later. For now, Jiraiya-san and I will leave to locate Killer B," Gaara stood up in his corner, "I will require a high quality henge, and somewhere to hide my sand."

"Leave the henge to me," Kakashi said, "I've prepared something". He walked over to the boy and laid his hands on either of Gaara's shoulders, "Henge no Jutsu!"

Immediately, Gaara's appearance began to morph. His hair became lighter until it settled into a startling white, his skin settled into a darker olive, the kanji character disappearing completely from his forehead. His stature and form remained mostly the same.

"You can pass him off as your son, Jiraiya-san," Kakashi looked over his handiwork, "then he will have a reason for staying close to you."

"Sure. I'm not cut out to be a father, but by all means let's experiment," Jiraiya smiled.

"And my sand?" Gaara asked blankly.

"I have something for that," the toad sage dug into his bag and pulled out a seal.

"You can transfer the majority of your sand into this storage seal," he pulled out a piece of seal paper marked with storage.

"I do not have talent in the area of summoning," Gaara regarded the paper apprehensively, "I cannot summon my sand from it."

"Yes, I know. I'll have to do it for you if we ever need to battle. But you can keep a small amount of sand in your pouch, and use that if I'm not around," Jiraiya suggested.

Gaara hesitated, having never been at ease unless he knew that he could instantly cover himself in a blanket of sand, but slowly nodded. This was much less conspicuous than carrying his large gourd.

A few minutes later, Jiraiya and the small white-haired boy who was his splitting image waved goodbye.

When they were back within the village walls, Naruto turned to Kakashi with a solemn look.

"Around a month from now, there will be a c-rank mission to Nami no Kuni which will turn into an A-rank. That's the mission where Sasuke will gain his Sharingan. We won't be going on that mission this time because it'll just be a distraction, but I still want Sasuke to activate his Sharingan."

Kakashi's slowly nodded in understanding. A smile formed beneath his mask.

"I'll see what I can do. Be at the bridge tonight at eight."

ooooo

Instead of heading to the apartment, Naruto allowed his feet to take him wherever they wanted. Eventually, he ended up in the residential neighborhood that Sakura lived in, and he figured that he might as well get to know her younger self a little better. After all, he had been spending a lot of time with Sasuke, and it was only fair that he gave his other teammate the same treatment.

That being said, he had to closely control his anger while walking through the area. Only three weeks ago, he had finally been accepted, and now _those looks_ were being thrown his way again. It was even worse since it was an area filled with respectable people, and not the nondescript people who minded their own work. Instead of trying to hide his face from them, he held it up as high as usual. Along with his bright orange jumpsuit, nobody would be allowed to mistake that he was the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi.

When he arrived at Sakura's door and knocked sharply, he took a moment to wonder what on earth he was supposed to say to her. _His _Sakura had been different; he knew that he could've have shown up at her door at two in the morning and she would have yelled at him for disturbing her, and then invited him in to talk. But this Sakura was different…

The door was opened before he had the chance to change his mind, and a pink haired girl peered out. Instead of her usual shinobi clothes, she was wearing a loose blue summer dress. Naruto remembered seeing it on Ino a while back.

"Hi Sakura-chan!"

"What are you doing here Naruto-baka?" She suddenly straightened, "did Kakashi-sensei call us for a mission?"

"Nope! But he did give me a lecture on teamwork," Naruto decided he'd use the same excuse from his first encounter with Sasuke, "and he mentioned that I have to get to know you and Sasuke-teme really well. So I was bored and thought that I'd start."

Sakura raised one eyebrow at him, her long pink hair flowing over one shoulder. Naruto vaguely realized that, years ago, he had been absolutely crazy for this girl as she was now. Seeing her dressed up might have once given him a nosebleed. But now he felt nothing more than friendship. That crazy love was reserved for the strong kunoichi she would one day become, and he was determined to get her back.

"…You're not here just to ask me on a date, are you? Because the answer is no. No matter how much time you spend with Sasuke, you're never going to _be _him."

"Aw come on, it's not a date! You see, Kashi-sensei made me realize that working as a team is more important than that stuff," he waved his hand nonchalantly, "I just thought we could go out to the training grounds and watch some clouds or something. As friends."

"You wish, Naruto-baka." But despite the response, she reached down and slipped her sandals on, grabbing her hitai-ite from a table. She reluctantly nodded and stepped out of the house, closing the door behind her.

"So…you _have _been spending a lot of time with Sasuke-kun, then. To…um…get to know him better," she tried after Naruto had followed her out of the grounds.

Naruto sighed inwardly. The last thing he needed was a completely Sasuke-centric talk, "yeah, but let's talk about you instead. I mean, I'm supposed to get to know you. Remember how Kakashi-sensei made us introduce ourselves? It'll be like that except longer."

Sakura shrugged, "Um…well, you already know my name…I like the color red and playing at the park with Ino. I don't like stupid people and orange clothing," she stuck her tongue out at him, "I'm good with numbers and tests and writing, and I can run really fast. Iruka sensei said I was one of the cleverest students in our class. But I'm not very good at using kunai and shuriken, at least nowhere as good as Sasuke-kun. That's it."

"Aren't you going to ask about me now?"

"Why? I already know all there is. Anyone who knows you for more than an hour gets a thorough understanding of your personality," she retorted, "I could probably do your introduction myself."

"Try it, I wanna hear," Naruto urged, curious.

"Fine," as they reached the training grounds, she settled down on the grass with her legs crossed, "I'm Uzumaki Naruto! I love ramen and orange! I hate vegetables and homework! My goal is to become hokage! There, finished."

Naruto paused, going over the guess. Finally, he nodded.

"That was spot on Sakura. Good job."

She slapped his shoulder with a smile and then lay down on the grass. Naruto followed, and they both looked up at the sky.

"Naruto-baka?"

"Yes Saku-chan?"

"There are too many clouds. You can't see any sky in between."

"Yeah, it's a cloudy day."

"So how are we supposed to watch clouds?"

"Um…I thought cloudy days were good for cloud watching?"

"…Do you even know what cloud watching is?"

"Yeah! It's when you lay down and watch the clouds go by."

"Idiot. You have to find shapes in the clouds and name them too. But you can't do that if the sky is covered with one huge cloud."

"So you find things that they look like?"

"Yes," she gave an exasperated sigh.

"All right…that one," he pointed to the huge mass of clouds above them, "looks like a giant dirty tissue!"

"What?!"

"It's mostly white, which is the tissue part, and it's dirty because the dark areas look like-"

"Stop right there! You're doing it all wrong!" She yelled, pushing his pointing finger down, "look," she sighed and pointed at a different part of the sky, "if you look really closely, the one over there looks like a strawberry. Just pretend the dark spots are the outlines of the strawberry and the little clouds in front are the strawberry seeds."

Naruto squinted hard, but the elusive strawberry didn't catch his eye.

"I don't see it…"

"Of course now. You need to have an imagination first," she snorted.

"I have lots of imagination! Once, I noticed that Sandaime-jiji's hair on the monument looked like a giant spiky hat so I bough some brown paint and-"

"That's the wrong kind of imagination!" She yelled, nudging his shoulder. However, a faint smile played on her lips. At least she was amused.

"Um. Sakura-chan?" Naruto began. An idea slowly formed in his head. His goal was to turn this carefree girl into a serious shinobi, and that meant that she had to get used to seeing things like fighting and blood in real life. During their original bell test, Kakashi had gone to her looking like a half-dead Sasuke, which had shocked her into action. Maybe he could try something like that again…

"Yes?"

"I talked to Kashi-sensei a while ago, and he plans to…um…help Sasuke activate his Sharingan."

She turned to see him, a smile on her face, "that's great! Sasuke-kun will be even stronger!"

"But…you know what has to happen right? Sasuke has to be put in a life or death situation. That's the only way the Sharingan will activate," he told her slowly.

Sakura frowned, "Kakashi-sensei is going to try to kill Sasuke-kun?"

She was a smart one when she tried.

"Yeah. Today evening, he's going to try to kill Sasuke-teme. Wanna watch?" After saying it he immediately cringed at the horrible choice of words.

She stayed still for a while, looking contemplative. At first Naruto thought she would burst out in denial and insist that she wasn't going to see her precious Sasuke-kun get hurt. When she spoke, he was surprised.

"Alright."

He waited for elaboration, but she didn't say anything more.

"Meet me at the bridge at eight today. We have to find a good place to hide and watch," he told her, pushing himself off the ground.

"Sure," she replied, a little catch in her voice.

Naruto smiled and turned back to her, "thanks for the date Sakura-chan! It was awesome! All it needed was a nice dinner and it would've been extra-special!"

"SHANNARO!"

ooooo

That evening at exactly eight o'clock on the dot, Hatake Kakashi was…still in his apartment. He was lounging on the couch, vaguely aware of a cup-ramen cover wedged behind his back from when Naruto had eaten breakfast. He knew perfectly well that he was better suited to living alone.

However, he looked up to see the time and sighed, putting Icha Icha Violence away and pushing himself up off the couch. There was still an hour and fifteen minutes left. _Exactly _one hour and fifteen minutes.

He sighed and walked into his room, still dazed from playing out one of his most _favorite _scenes in his mind. The Uchiha kid was sharp; he knew his sensei would probably never harm him. He had to make this look real. Immediately his eyes wandered to a small box sitting on the shelf at the top of his closet. He reached up and pulled out the box, watching as it dropped to the floor and spilled its contents. Black cloth fell out, along with a while clay mask.

_Dog._

It would have to do. Little Sasuke-kun also knew that he had to follow orders. If he wore this, he could pass it off as the village's attempt to eliminate the Uchiha clan. It might just work. He sighed; this was really much too intense for him. However, his adorable student needed to get the Sharingan and this method was slightly…unethical – he couldn't simply ask Gai-san or Kurenai-kun to do it like he did with many other things in life.

He shrugged his flak jacket and dark blue shirt off and pulled on the sleeveless anbu shirt. The anbu armored vest had been taken from him since he was no longer an active member, but he was allowed to keep all the other clothing. The pants were next, and after that were the long gloves that stopped short of the anbu tattoo on his upper am. He finally picked up the tanto, sliding off the sheath to judge the sharpness, and then setting it into the clasps behind his back. The mask stayed on the clasp near his left hip.

There were no mirrors in his room, but the clear window was reflective enough. Some of the muscles down his arms had grown a little soft from not being used as harshly as he had before, but he still struck an intimidating image.

Forty-five minutes left until he would meet Sasuke at the bridge. He had left the boy a small note outside his door after Naruto had gone to see Sakura. Kakashi ambled out into the living room, feeling decidedly strange back in his old outfit. He picked up Icha Icha from where he had left it on the table and opened it to a random page. Every page was pure gold anyway.

Fifteen minutes later, his door burst open.

"Kakashi my dear rival! I will challenge you to a youthful game of-"

Gai paused when he saw Kakashi lounging across the couch in full anbu gear. He immediately entered his more serious mode.

"You were dismissed from service years ago, my friend. Did they call you back?"

Kakashi smiled at him. Really, the serious expression looked almost out of place on Maito Gai's face.

"No, I'm not in the anbu anymore," he said, eyes going back towards his book.

"Then…why are you…"

"Gai-san?"

"Hmm?"

"I don't feel like doing any pushups right now."

Gai frowned, "Why are you dressed in your anbu clothing? I haven't seen you wear that for years."

"The fabric is very soft and the pants are much looser. I like it," he said leisurely, turning a page in his book.

"You're wearing your tanto."

"The metal feels great against my skin." Especially since the scene his eyes were scanning involved quite a lot of metal…

"Your mask is on your hip."

Kakashi sighed. There was no way he could make that seem comfortable.

"Well, I have a plan, and I figured I might as well dress up for the part. I can't explain everything because I have to be there in twenty-eight minutes."

Gai nodded. He was the only other person who knew the truth about Kakashi's peculiar habit. More importantly, it was actually somewhat likely that he understood it.

"Tell me briefly, then. This is suspicious."

Kakashi sighed again and reached up to scratch his head, "well, it's about one of my students. I…"

Gai waited in anticipation.

"I'm tired of teaching him so I wanted to show him how cool he could look if he joined anbu."

Gai stared.

"Really? Do I not look as 'cool and hip' as I used to? It's only been five years…"

"Oi, Kakashi…just tell me. I'm not letting you out until you do," the older man stood with his arms crossed against the doorway. He seemed to get more and more serious by the minute.

"Well, the truth is, I'm trying to pretend to kill one of my students," he said casually, flipping a page.

Gai waited for him to explain. The stupid man couldn't seem to believe Kakashi had any sort of traitor bone in his body.

"It's Sasu-kun. He wants to activate his Sharingan, and I've decided that it would be better if he did so in a safe and controlled environment instead of out on the battlefield," he finally answered.

Gai nodded, "ah. It is a good idea, if not a little bit unethical."

"My thoughts exactly. Don't tell the others yet."

"I'll try not to. So, may I watch?"

Kakashi looked up with a raised eyebrow, "you want to watch me try to kill my student?"

"Yes. May I?"

"Sure. Of course. Naruto is planning on watching as well. Go hide with him. I'm sure Sasu-kun would be ecstatic to discover that so many people had watched him run and scream."

"Yosh! I will go find young Naruto-kun right away!" Gai reverted back to his normal self, rushing out the doorway in a green blur.

Kakashi looked at the clock. Fourteen minutes and thirty seconds left. He pocketed his book and stood up.

Ooooo

"Naruto you're stepping on my foot!"

"Sorry Sakura-chan, I'll move a little."

"…Naruto if you don't get off me in the next second I swear I will-"

"I'm moving I'm moving! There isn't much space!"

"Clearly!"

Naruto shifted over on the branch they were hiding behind. They had to choose somewhere low enough to see clearly but high enough so the lower branches did not obscure their view. Almost fifty meters away, sitting on the centre of the bridge to the training grounds, was Sasuke

The Uchiha had arrived at eight o'clock by the dot, just as it had said on his note. However, he had forgotten to account for their sensei's lateness. He had long given up on standing and was now slouched over, fingers drumming on his arms. Naruto had arrived a little earlier with Sakura, and was settled into a tree nearby, waiting for Kakashi to show up by making small talk with his other teammate.

"Ok now?" He asked, squished up against the truck of the tree while Sakura took up almost all the branch space she could without going far enough to snap it.

"Yeah, kind of," she replied, "why is Kakashi-sensei not here yet? I know he's late for our meetings, but he isn't late for _everything _is he?"

"Indeed he is," a new voice suddenly spoke up from behind them. Naruto and Sakura almost fell off the branch with the speed they turned around.

"However, he is never late in being late, so he should be here in a few minutes," Maito Gai confirmed from behind them.

"W-who are you?!" Sakura let out a harsh whisper.

"I am Maito Gai, Konoha's Noble Green Beast!" Gai said in an imitation harsh whisper, "you may know me as Hatake Kakashi's eternal rival!"

"No, no I don't…"

"I am here to watch him help one of his youthful students become a stronger shinobi!" Gai told her. He was crouched on the branch behind them, able to easily see over their heads due to his height.

Sakura's eyes seemed permanently scarred at the sight of a grown man in what looked like green spandex. She turned to Naruto.

"Do you know this person?"

"Yeah. He's another jonin-sensei," Naruto replied, "he trains a genin team a year above us. He visits the apartment every morning."

"Oh…why is he here to watch sensei and Sasuke-kun?"

"I don't know. I'm not even sure why Kakashi-sensei told him…"

In a few minutes, their question was answered when footsteps were heard from across the bridge. Sasuke immediately stood up and brushed himself off, waiting for his sensei. At the other end appeared…an anbu.

It was Kakashi, but instead of his usual nondescript clothes and flak jacket, he was dressed in anbu gear with a tanto strapped to his back. His usual mask covered his face, but a clay dog mask hung at his hip.

"Kakashi-sensei?" Sasuke asked, "I would tell you that you're late, but…why are you dressed like that? I thought we were just having more training? Where are the dobe and Sakura?"

Kakashi didn't say anything. He slowly slid the tanto out of its sheath and moved towards him. Naruto had to admit that he was impressed. The jonin made barely a sound when he walked. He approached Sasuke with the tanto held in front. Naruto had no idea how good he was in kenjutsu, but he was sure it would be a sight to behold.

"Kakashi…sensei?" Sasuke asked warily. One hand was already heading towards his pouch, "is this some sort of survival training? You really didn't need to get dressed up…"

Again, the jonin said nothing. He had Sasuke backed completely into the training grounds now, and the sky was slowly getting darker since it was almost ten.

"I'm sorry, Sasuke-kun."

Without any indicated, Kakashi used shunshin to land directly behind him. Sasuke could only widen his eyes as he felt the presence, and barely managed to bring up one kunai in time to block the blow.

"Sensei! Stop! Explain this!"

He didn't explain anything, only jumping back and using shunshin again. This time, he made a slash against Sasuke's forearm. The Uchiha boy leapt back, clutching his arm as small drops of blood seeped out.

From where they were hiding in their tree, Sakura gasped.

"He's harming him! Sasuke-kun is bleeding!"

"Of course, Sakura-chan. He has to. Sasuke has to feel like he's in a life or death situation," Naruto told her. He slowly held on to her wrist, just to make she didn't jump in when it got worse.

"Such a harsh bloodline-limit, the Sharingan," Gai muttered from behind them, "no matter. You must believe that your teammate is capable of fully using the power of youth!"

"Is this nut head really a jonin?" Sakura whispered to Naruto.

"Yeah. Believe it," he whispered back, "he's actually really strong in taijutsu."

Sakura turned to look at the tights that didn't leave much of his upper body to the imagination, "I can believe it. Stronger than Kashi-sensei?" She asked a little louder.

"Nope!" Naruto said proudly.

"I would mention that you have not seen my true skill…but I will instead praise you for your everlasting faith in your sensei in the same way my wonderful students believe in me. Such bonding! It is so youthful!" Gai spoke again.

Sakura turned back to the fight occurring in the training grounds.

"Stop this! Sensei what are you doing! Who put you up to this?" Sasuke yelled, protecting his side from another swipe with the tanto.

Kakashi put away his sword and slowly revealed his Sharingan eye. His hand signs were too fast for the eye to follow.

"Suiton: Mizurapa!" He held two fingers in front of his and watched the giant burst of water erupt from his hand and head for his student.

Sasuke dodged it by millimeters, falling to the ground and then scrambling to pick himself back up.

"Sensei!"

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

Two Kakashi's leapt at him from either side. At this point, Sasuke had real fear in his eyes.

"The Hokage put you up to this, didn't he?" The Uchiha boy yelled, "someone who wants to get rid of the Uchihas?! It's an order that you have to follow, isn't it?!"

One of the clones cut his side with a kunai. Sasuke doubled over, holding it in a desperate attempt to stop the bleeding.

"I though-"

He closely dodged a flurry of shuriken.

"-you said-"

Kakashi drew the tanto again and used shunshin to pass by him, cutting the side of his arm in the process.

"-that people who broke the rules were scum-"

When one of the three Kakashi-clones came at his, Sasuke drew a shuriken and managed to take it out halfway through a shunshin.

"-but that-"

The jonin quickly formed over twenty hand seals in barely a second and a stream of lightning leapt at him. Sasuke barely dodged it.

"-people who didn't protect their friends were worse than scum!"

Sasuke stopped holding his injured side and dug his hand into his pouch, drawing out every shuriken he had. He threw them with a glint of real anger in his new eyes.

Two of the Kakashi-clones dissipated. The real Kakashi put the kunai he had drawn back into his pouch.

In the tree, Naruto started. He watched as his sensei turned to look at where he was hiding and gave him a short wave. Naruto burst into a smile and took Sakura's hand, dragging her with him as he leapt out of a tree and ran across the grounds. He came to a stop right in front of a startled Sasuke, a look of absolute delight on his face.

"Surprise!" He yelled, flinging both hands – and Sakura's hand – into the air.

"S-surprise," Sakura repeated, looking at him strangely.

For a moment there was silence.

"What on earth is going on? Someone explain this to me!" Sasuke yelled, anger flashing across his red irises.

"You're a real Uchiha shinobi now, Sasu-kun," Kakashi smiled and reached out to pat the boy's head. Sasuke jerked back at the touch.

"What?"

"My eternal rival is attempting to say that you have received your clan's bloodline limit!" Gai proclaimed, standing behind Naruto, "I give you my dearest congratulations!"

Sasuke looked at them in confusion, and then realization fell. He slowly looked at each of them.

"My eyes…I have the Sharingan now."

"Yeah!" Naruto confirmed.

Kakashi drew the tanto and wiped the blood off on his shirt, holding it out for Sasuke to see. The Uchiha boy took it, watching the jonin carefully, and looked at his reflection in the metal. His eyes widened.

"I have the Sharingan."

"Congratulations, Sasuke-kun," Sakura smiled.

"Yeah Sasuke-teme. Maybe one day you'll be as strong as I am!" Naruto exclaimed.

Sasuke didn't even bother responding, still watching his eyes in the metal of the tanto. He slowly handed it back to Kakashi and looked at him with respect in his eyes.

"Thank you, Kakashi-sensei."

The white-haired jonin smiled under his mask, "you're very welcome, Sasuke-kun."

"However," the boy continued, "please keep your distance for a few days. It'll take time to get over the mental trauma."

**ooooo**

**Something I've noticed in a lot of time-travel fics is that Naruto is always a lot smarter and more serious. Personally, I think that even if he became Hokage and a truly powerful shinobi, he'd still be _Naruto. _**


	6. Mobilizing Killer B of Kumo

**Chapter 6 - Killer B of Kumogakure**

Three days later, the future Kazekage found himself awkwardly shifting on a chair in the waiting room of the Raikage's tower. Surrounding him were various attendants, paper-pushers, and some anbu that he sensed hiding in ceiling alcoves. His supposed 'father' was currently speaking to one of the paper-pushers.

"Do you not understand who I am?!"

"I know perfectly well who you are, Jiraiya of the Sannin," the scrawny man sweat dropped, "but we cannot let just anyone in to see B-sama. You must have clearance from the Raikage."

"Then ask him to come out! My time is important!"

"I cannot do that, Jiraiya-san! B-sama has locked himself inside his room and isn't coming out! He's been inside for almost three weeks now!" The paper-pusher yelled, irritated.

Jiraiya sighed, and turned around to call him. Gaara nodded and stood up from the chair, walking over to toad sage.

The older man then turned back to the paper-pushed, "listen. Go to his room and tell him one thing. Just say it so that he can hear, and if he asks tell him it's from us."

Gaara spent a moment to think about exactly what he could say. It had to be something private enough that only B would know, but he couldn't afford to reveal anything important and draw too much attention. He settled for one word.

"Trigger," he told the paper-pushed, looking up with wide grey eyes, "tell him the word 'trigger'."

The other man sighed but looked resigned, "fine. If he doesn't come out you'll go away, right?"

Jiraiya had no intention of doing so, but he nodded.

After the man left to find B, the older man sighed and turned to him, "are you sure that will work? What if the hachibi hasn't told him yet? I mean, he's locked up in his room…"

"From what Naruto has told me, Killer B would not just withdraw if he felt threatened. I think that he must be conversing with the hachibi in private," he responded, "the trigger is something that hachibi would definitely know about, and unlike my own bijuu, his is even more cooperative than Kurama-san."

Jiraiya frowned, "how are you coping, Gaara-san? Naruto told me that you used to be almost insane from Shukaku's influence."

Gaara tilted his head, "that is true. I used to call her Mother because she made me believe that I was her child and that she had created me to kill. However, my chakra control has improved. I can now restrain her, and she no longer crowds my mind."

Jiraiya nodded and sat down, "that is good. If you ever feel out of control, just call me. I'm a fuuinjutsu master, after all."

Only a few moments later, a large man came bursting into the waiting room.

"Who are you? Kono yaro!"

Gaara stood up calmly and gave him a small nod. At the sight of the young boy with white hair, B rushed over and grabbed him by the shoulders. Gaara didn't start, but instead looked sideways to Jiraiya. B's gaze followed him, and he let go of the boy to turn to the toad sage.

"Jiraiya of the Sannin? Where have you been? I need to find Naruto, or else the trigger will go!"

Jiraiya nodded serious, "it's good to meet you, Killer B-san. Naruto has told me everything. We need a private place to talk."

Behind him, the paper-pusher appeared, breathless from running after B. He stared in surprise.

"B-sama? How do you know these-"

"No time for small talk, baka yaro!" B pushed him out of the way with one hand, and the thin man crashed into the wall, "follow me."

Gaara stared at the strange man, and then decided that this really wasn't enough to surprise him. He'd seen enough strange people in his days. He walked quickly, almost tripping over his smaller feet as he rushed to keep up with B and Jiraiya. They were lead up the stairs of the tower, and into a room at one side. Killer B pushed open the door and waved the two of them in, closing it behind them. Inside was nothing but a large cloth mat on the floor. Gaara walked in and kneeled on the mat, following Jiraiya. Killer B came next and sat cross-legged in front of them.

"Well," Jiraiya began, "I have a question before I explain our situation. Why have you locked yourself up in your room for so long? Surely it doesn't take this long for Hachibi-san to explain the time seal."

B stayed silent for a while, and then swallowed loudly.

"It's one of the changes! Everybody here's deranged! " B yelled out.

Gaara stored away the indignation at the slight to his intelligence and decided to pry the topic out of him.

"B-san, what exactly do you mean? Has a time change occurred?"

"They ruined my rhyme! Apparently back a long time, when I first learned enka, they told me off. Now I came back, and spoke in front of brother, and he forbid me to rhyme!"

"…Well I'm sure that's tragic but-"

"My character changed! That's not something that can be easily arranged."

Jiraiya sighed. Maybe looking for the woman wouldn't have been such a bad idea…

"Talk to us, then," Gaara told him, "we don't care if you rhyme. We're trying to find a way to unite the Jinchuuriki and destroy the Akatsuki in order to stop the trigger from happening. I am Sabaku no Gaara, Jinchuuriki of the Ichibi. Uzumaki Naruto, Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi, has already contacted us. We have two more Jinchuuriki that we can find, and Sharingan no Kakashi and Jiraiya of the Sannin already know of our situation."

"Sounds good, kono yaro. I call Kisame. Gyuki and I will defeat him with our chakra, baka yaro." His expression changed from horrified to happy in only a few seconds. He was clearly a man of little depth.

Gaara smiled slightly, it had been a good idea to contact him. There were few who would be confident enough in their abilities to volunteer to go after Hoshigaki Kisame.

"We also need you to help find a certain Jinchuuriki, B-san. You will find Hoshigaki Kisame and Itachi Uchiha in Kiri, along with the Jinchuuriki of the Rokubi," Gaara explained.

"Rokubi, eh? So he'll be strong, eh?"

"I do not know of his strength, Naruto has only told me that he goes by the name of Utakata and that he can be found in a place called Mount Katsuragi," Gaara replied, "we need you to find him and team up with him."

"I'll find a way, there's no way these rhymeless fools can make me stay. I'll drag this Rokubi into battle by me," he punched the air with his fist.

Jiraiya frowned, "however, there is a problem," he started, "I've been researching the Akatsuki for a long time, and I know that they work in pairs. The one with Kisame is Uchiha Itachi, and Naruto has specifically told me to make sure we do not fight him."

"I'll avoid the Uchiha brat, everything else is down pat," B gave them a thumbs-up and stood, "what is the rest of the plan? You seem to know, little man."

Gaara slowly got up from his kneeling position, "we plan to work in pairs, in order to best use our strengths against the Akatsuki. Naruto and Kakashi are already a convenient pair; both are strong shinobi and are well versed in many styles of battle. Jiraiya-san and I will be working together as well, since he can attack with his summons and my sand is the ultimate defense. We do not know too much about Utakata-san and Rokubi, but I hope you and Gyuki-san will work well with them. Yonbi and Nanabi have already been captured by the Akatsuki, and Sanbi is within Yagura, who is a puppet of Madara Uchiba. That leaves Yugito Nii, Jinchuuriki of the Nibi. Since we need you to find Utakata-san, we will have to inform another shinobi who is sufficiently powerful in order to give Yugito-san a partner," he finished.

"I think I have a solution to that," Jiraiya began, "but it would be troublesome to convince her…"

"Tell us, Jiraiya-san. Who do you have in mind?"

"My old teammate, Senju Tsunade. She's strong enough to take on the Akatsuki, and she's a skilled iryounin as well," Jiraiya scratched his chin, "I'm not sure she'd be so willing to help us, though…"

"We will find her, then," Gaara proclaimed, "any member of the Sannin is powerful enough to be an asset, and we do not have any other iryounin on our side."

Jiraiya sighed. This was going to be troublesome.

ooooo

"-And then some of the other senpai convinced Kakashi to join the game!" Gai exclaimed, watching three pairs of wide eyes staring up at him as he continued his storytelling.

"Kakashi-san used to be so bad at gambling that he was the first to lose his clothing. Eventually, he only had two pieces of clothing left, one of which was his mask. When he lost the next round, guess which one he chose to remove?!"

"No way! Kashi-sensei is that true?!" Sakura turned to Kakashi, blushing wildly. Their sensei was sitting silently in the corner of the table.

"At that point he was desperate enough to play so skillfully that he was never called out during the rest of the game. However, he was still stark naked but for his mask," Gai added.

"Mou, Gai-san. That's enough. They're too young for this…"

"You cannot blame me for enlightening your youthful students about your admirable devotion towards your mask, Kakashi!" Gai flashed him a bright smile.

"Acorn…" Kakashi muttered under his breath.

They were currently seated at Ichiraku Ramen, celebrating Sasuke's new Sharingan. Sasuke himself was actually moving though his ramen bowl quickly, the pleased look from the previous day's realization still on his face as he watched Gai recall funny tales from his youth. Even Sakura had momentarily forgotten about her diet and was working her way through her second bowl.

"Why didn't we go to a place of my choice?" Sasuke suddenly questioned.

"Because you're all making me pay, and Naruto's choice is cheaper," Kakashi told him quickly, "besides, you like ramen."

"I also like quality sushi," Sasuke muttered. The pleased look, however, hadn't left his face.

"I should tell you about the time we had a day at the onsen to celebrate Kurenai-kun becoming a jonin-"

"NO not that one, Gai-san," Kakashi interrupted.

Naruto smirked, "Sakura-chan, I should tell you about this time a few days ago when Kashi-sensei and Ero-sennin were-"

"THAT'S enough story telling for now," the jonin interrupted again, "I think Sasu-kun should pick the topic. It's his celebration after all."

Sasuke smirked, "Well I actually wouldn't mind hearing Naruto's story _again…_"

"Uchiha Sasuke!"

"Fine. I'll pick a different topic," he turned to Kakashi, "why do you wear your mask?"

"He thinks you have huge teeth," Sakura added, "but I'm willing to bet on a mole."

Kakashi considered the question in silence for a little while, slowly chewing the noodles that he had scooped into his mouth a few seconds earlier when everyone had been turned towards Gai.

"Well, I've worn it for a very long time. It's a habit."

Sasuke didn't seem satisfied with the answer, "but…why did you _start _wearing it?"

"That's an interesting question, indeed," Gai added, "my eternal rival has been wearing that mask since he was very young."

Kakashi sighed, "Mou… I suppose it'll do no harm to tell you now. I look very similar to my father."

There was some silence. Naruto remembered that Hatake Sakumo had died of disgrace and decided that probing further might open up some old wounds, but Sasuke had no idea, and decided to continue the interrogation.

"Why does that matter?" He asked, watching his sensei curiously.

"Well…he was known as Konoha's White Fang, and I was born during the Third Shinobi War."

"Was he powerful?" Sakura asked tentatively.

"Very powerful. Seeing as he didn't come from a significant clan, it was surprising, but he was a genius. Every one of our enemies knew his face well," Kakashi replied in a monotone. For some reason, it didn't sound at all like he was boasting.

"Ah," Sakura's eyes widened, "you started wearing it to protect yourself from being captured or killed. Enemy shinobi would target you because you looked exactly like he did."

"Yes…that's true. He gave me my first mask when I was four, the day I entered the academy," he finished, pushing away his empty bowl of ramen.

Naruto's eyes widened. That was one secret that he had always wondered about, but he had been afraid to ask ever since one of the other jonin had told him the story of Konoha's White Fang. He knew that his sensei was harboring some very disturbing feelings for the past, and he watched the white-haired jonin leave his apartment at exactly seven o'clock every Friday evening to visit his teammate's grave. His sensei lead a very private life, and he'd been happy to never disturb it. However, watching Sasuke poke at him was making him wonder if it would be better for him to do so as well.

"Yosh! One of my life's missions is complete! I have spent over ten years trying to figure out why you hid your face!" Gai proclaimed.

"Mou…you could have just asked me…"

"I did not realize that! As Konoha's Noble Green Beast, I must do everything the challenging way!" Gai flexed one of the muscles in his arms to illustrate his point. Sakura shivered a little, shifting a few centimeters away from him.

"So…can we see?" Sakura tried, a mischievous look on her face, "If not, we'll just try to take it off the next time you fall asleep during one of our d-ranks, and then you'll never be able to sleep around us again," she gave him a smug smile.

"Sure," Kakashi smiled brightly, "under this mask is…"

Sasuke looked up with interest and Sakura was practically leaning over until she was right in front of his face.

Naruto inwardly groaned.

"Another mask!"

He had the feeling that his sensei took great pride in saying that.

The letter from Gaara arrived that evening, delivered by one of Jiraiya's toad summons. Kakashi found it on the table in his apartment when he and Naruto got back, and slid the cover open with his finger.

_Kakashi-san and Naruto,_

_We have located Killer B, and he is willing to go to Kiri for the purposes of finding Utakata-san and defeating Hoshigaki Kisame. I have warned him not to engage Uchiha Itachi. We are heading to find Yugito Nii, and Jiraiya has suggested that she be paired with the other Sannin, Senju Tsunade-san. Jiraiya has also been tracking the Akatsuki for a while, and he tells me he has received intel that there are two Akatsuki members that are currently close to the border of Konoha. His sources tell him that they are staying at a small village at the edge of Konoha, and that Kakashi will know where he speaks of. We will contact you once more when we find Yugito Nii. _

_-Gaara _

After reading, Kakashi nodded, "I know what he means. It's a small place that runs off the tourism of its onsen. It's also the place where Tsunade-san once broke all the bones in Jiraiya-san's body," he winced.

"They might not stay there for long, I think we should head out to find them," Naruto suggested, "however, we don't know _which _two Akatsuki members…"

"It cannot be Kisame and Itachi. Itachi would be too easily recognized in Hi no Kuni as an Uchiha, and Kisame … looks like a fish. You said Pein was in Ame, so it cannot be him. Who does that leave?"

"Either Deidara and Sasori, or Kakuzu and Hidan," Naruto replied, thoughtful.

"Should we engage them?"

"It's most probably Kakuzu and Hidan. They're the only members who look normal enough to venture out into the villages. We can probably fight them. I managed to defeat Kakuzu after you weakened him, but I'm much stronger now so I think I can do it myself. I'm pretty sure you can take Hidan. His only real power is in his immortality."

"Immortality?!"

"I'll explain it to you. But if we see Deidara and Sasori, we should probably retreat. We'd probably have a chance of defeating them, but it would destroy the poor village in the process," he explained.

Kakashi nodded, taking off his jonin flak jacket, "alright. I'll take you to the village right away; we don't know how long they'll stay there, so it would be best to hurry."

ooooo

"So…what exactly did you tell Sandaime-jiji?" Naruto asked tentatively.

Exactly an hour ago, his sensei had emerged from the Hokage's office with a bright smile beneath his mask, proclaiming that they had full clearance to leave the village for as long as two weeks.

"Well, I told him that since Minato-sensei was unable to teach his famous jutsu to his son due to his untimely death, I felt the responsibility to pass on the technique," Kakashi replied, whizzing through the trees in front of him, "Sandaime-san knows of my…feelings towards Minato-sensei's death, and allowed it."

"You're…going to teach me the Rasengan?"

"Yes. And as we all know, it's a technique that requires the utmost dedication. Something that you cannot give while in the village. Therefore we are going to take a nice, long, teacher-student training trip," the smile was still on his face.

"Sasuke and Sakura will get jealous," Naruto pointed out.

"I'll teach them things as well. Any suggestions?" He leapt off another branch.

"Teach Sasuke the Chidori. It's a technique that he'll master in no time, especially with his Sharingan" Naruto replied, "and Sakura…teach her genjutsu. I know you're not an expert in it, but I know you've already told me that Kurenai-sensei is too busy to take on an extra student."

Kakashi frowned, "I know…I even offered to take the Hyuuga girl off her hands for some taijutsu training, but she refused. She's rather protective of that girl. I think there might be some favoritism going on. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that I was in the middle of reading Icha Icha when she walked by."

"Yes, maybe," Naruto deadpanned. He knew well that Kurenai-sensei was very protective of Hinata in the same way Kakashi had once been towards Sasuke. She would never let her precious student go off with a masked pervert. Watching the back of his sensei's jacket as they whizzed through the trees, he smiled.

"This feels so strange…"

"Hmm?"

"That you're actually teaching me things. It's nice."

Kakashi turned around to see his student's smile.

"Mou…what sort of sensei was I in the future?..."

"You were a good sensei. It's just that you spent too much time with Sasuke and left Sakura and I to find our own teachers. I sort of hated you for a while. But you changed a lot. By the time I came back from my training with Ero-sennin, you and Sakura and I were a great team!"

Kakashi frowned beneath his mask.

"I think I would have become like that again if Sandaime-sama hadn't asked me to keep an eye on you. I was interested in Sasuke because I felt some sort of obligation to help the last Uchiha. I was the only one who could teach him how to use the Sharingan…I suppose I should thank you for deterring me. Sakura is coming along well with her taijutsu, and you're a worthy student as well."

"It's ok. I think I forgave you the moment you invited me to stay with you. It's so much easier to get to the training grounds when you live right next to them," Naruto gave him a wide smile, "next time you go to peek at the onsen, you can just take me along and it'll be a deal!"

"I don't care if your mental age is sixteen," Kakashi mumbled, "I am not taking an eleven year old boy with me to peak at girls. It's just not right. Now tell me about this Hidan that I'm supposed to kill."

Naruto grinned, "well, he's really cool! I mean, he did kill Asuma-sensei and all, but his immortality is really awesome for an evil guy!"

"Naruto…"

"Alright, alright. Well, he's the last living member of his cult called the Cult of Jashin, and he's extremely religious. His religion is called Jashin-kyo, and Shikamaru did some research on him and said that –"

"Naruto I need to know about his abilities, not his life's story."

"Oh fine. Well, in a fight he can't die of being stabbed or having his body parts cut off. He can just sew them back on. So he waits for his enemy to come kill him, and then he kills them right back. He also has this huge scythe, which he uses to draw his opponent's blood. He uses the blood to draw a circle and does this ritual where he channels his own pain into his opponent. Then he stands in the middle of the circle and stabs himself. His opponent feels all the pain that he experiences, and eventually dies of it."

"Alright. Don't bleed. Understood," Kakashi sighed, "how did Shikamaru defeat him?"

"He used a whole bunch of paper-bombs to bury him alive," Naruto told him, "I think Hidan can die of hunger. Eventually."

"Hmm. I think I have an idea, then. What's he like? Is he intelligent?"

"According to Shikamaru, he's the dumbest member of the Akatsuki. He doesn't really read into things, he just likes killing people for his Jashin-sama," Naruto grimaced.

"Good. That'll work well. Should we engage them together, or do you want to lead them separate from each other?"

"Separately would be better. They work well together," he replied.

In a few more minutes, they came to a stop in front of the cliff that overlooked the small village. Kakashi stopped and turned towards him.

"Before we enter, I'll brief you on my plan," he paused against a tree.

"There's really only one place here where they could be staying. It's a small inn next to the onsen. We'll be staying there as well. I'll scout out an area tonight that's well within the forest outside the village and prepare a pit. I'll find a way to gather some intel on his abilities. If it comes to it, I have some sake packed. Then I'll find a way to lead him to the pit. Hopefully I'll be able to bury him alive without much of a fight," he finished, "what are you planning?"

Naruto considered it carefully, and then shrugged, "I'm not much of a planner. I'll just see how it goes. I'll probably find a way to get him out of the village and then attack with rasen-shuriken the way I did before."

Kakashi sighed, "remind me to teach you the basics of shinobi tactics later on. Follow me."

He leapt off the small cliff and landed nimbly on his feet, brushing himself off before heading towards the narrow street. Unlike the larger villages, this small place did not have any gates. There was really no need; no one would attack them.

"Take off your hitai-ite," Kakashi instructed, pocketing his own. Underneath it, he had worn a simple headband pulled down over his Sharingan eye.

Naruto nodded and took off his own, placing it in his pouch as he followed his sensei to a small, worn-looking building. In place of a signboard, there was a paper stuck to the windows with 'vacancies' written on it.

Kakashi walked in calmly and headed to the desk, digging in his back pocket for a wallet. The old man behind the desk looked up from the paper he was reading.

"How many?"

"Two rooms," Kakashi replied, handing over a handful of coins that were probably more than enough, "this should suffice."

The old man looked at the coins, and scraped them into the drawer behind the desk, standing up and cracking his joints. He yawned and gestured for them to follow as he walked down the dilapidated hallway.

"There aren't a lot of people frequenting the onsen at this time of year, are they?" Kakashi asked lightly.

"Nah. Little too chilly out," the innkeeper drawled.

"Any other customers?"

"Small family passing by. You two. Two other weirdos."

"Two other weirdos?"

"Yeah. Haggled over the room price for hours. It's cheap enough as it is, really."

"Harsh."

"Yeah. Bit scary though. I gave them quarter off. Your room," he pointed to a door at the end of the hall, "and the kid's room," he pointed to the door opposite to it, "avoid the weirdos. They're right next door."

Kakashi looked apprehensively at the doors next to theirs, and then opened his own room. It was an old place. The sheets on the ground were threadbare and the pillow was almost flat. There was no furniture in the room apart from a small wooden box with a key, to store valuables while they were out.

Naruto walked into Kakashi's room first.

"What are we doing for the rest of the evening, sensei? You're not planning on setting the trap until tonight, right?"

"For the evening," Kakashi leisurely stretched, "I will be teaching you the rasengan."

Naruto raised an eyebrow, "I can already do it. I've shown it to you."

"Mou…there's no harm in learning it all over again. I've brought water balloons and everything," he opened his pack and turned it upside down, spilling out a whole bunch of water balloons, "this is how Jiraiya-san learned from Minato-sensei, so I thought it would work with you too."

"Sensei! I _already know the Rasengan. _We're just wasting time!" Naruto protested.

"Well," a smile crinkled his eyes, "we do have to do something to make the anbu hiding on the roof of this inn go away."

Naruto's eyes widened, "what?"

"You're the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi. Sandaime-san told them to keep an eye on you until they're sure I won't let you get hurt," the smiled widened, "now come along, student of mine. Today, you're going to learn a brand-new jutsu!"

Naruto groaned, "why is Sandaime-jiji suddenly so protective of me? He's never had anbu follow me before!"

"Well he had to do something after all the kidnapping attempts when you were a baby, didn't he?"

He paused, and then looked at Kakashi slowly. "There were…kidnapping attempts on me?"

"Of course. Mainly from Kumo. Somehow they knew that Konoha had made a Jinchuuriki. Luckily they never realized exactly who it was, but when you were young they sent spies to try and gather information. Of course, Sandaime-sama's anbu stopped all of them, and eventually the spies stopped coming. They must think that it's a little too late to turn a Konoha Jinchuuriki into one of Kumo's if said Jinchuuriki was already all grown up in his homeland," Kakashi drawled, "now gather these balloons and get out. We have some training to do."

Naruto picked up the balloons, his head whizzing with activity. He had never heard of these attempts. Since they had happened when he was young, he didn't even know if they were another change.

He followed his sensei out of the backdoor of the inn with an armful of balloons. The innkeeper gave them a strange look as they left, and then went back to his paper.

"This should be a good area," Kakashi said loudly, making sure the anbu heard him.

"Hmmph," Naruto grunted under his balloons, "what are we doing?" He played along.

"You're going to burst these water balloons by using your chakra to swirl the water inside them. Normally we'd do these with plain balloons first, but all the chakra control exercises I've been making you do should make up for that," Kakashi picked up a balloon to demonstrate.

"You concentrate your chakra into your palm, and then…swirl…and there we go," he said as the water balloon burst. He thrust his hand away from him at the perfect moment to allow the water to shower onto Naruto's head.

"Your turn," he said, picking out his copy of Icha Icha from his pocket.

Naruto sighed and picked up a balloon. In order to make this believable, he would have to go on for at least a few hours. It had taken him almost eight hours to burst the water balloon last time. It was going to be a long evening…

ooooo

Four hours later, Kakashi took pity on watching Naruto exhaust his generous chakra trying to burst his first water balloon, and told him to go sleep for the night. His student yawned and looked at him like he'd lit the sun and hung the moon, before ambling to his room and collapsing onto the thin sheets.

Kakashi himself wasn't about to go back into the room. Earlier, he had seen a certain person leave the inn though the front entrance. That certain person looked just as Naruto had described. He went to the front of the inn and sat down on the dusty front step, leaning back against the building as he pulled out his book.

It was well into the night before he heard footsteps down the road. He looked up to see a young man walking towards the inn. Under the faint outer lights that lined the top of the inn, he could clearly make out the man's features. He was silver haired and had a healthy tan. He wore a pair of plain cotton pants with no shirt or Akatsuki cloak, and his sculpted chest gleamed in the yellow light. Strong arms, not a single scar…everything about him screamed 'healthy' except for the large streaks of blood covering his chest. The giant scythe thrown over his shoulder explained them.

Kakashi squinted and noticed that there were slash marks all over his chest. That was good. He had something to talk about.

As the young man came closer, Kakashi smiled up at him under his mask from where he was sitting, and waved.

"Yo."

The other man gave him a weird look.

"Are you homeless or something?" He asked, eyeing the fact that Kakashi was sitting on the ground.

"Nope. I just came out to read. Time passes rather quickly when you have a good book," Kakashi's eyes crinkled in his smile.

"Fascinating. Move," the other man gestured, trying to make it past him to the entrance of the inn.

"You're hurt."

"Wow. What an observation. Seriously."

"What happened?"

"I fucking fell," Hidan told him.

"Why is there blood on your weapon?"

"I fucking fell _on it,_" he said, "get out of my way."

"I've got some herbal paste for cuts, if you want it," Kakashi shrugged and stood up, pocketing his book and dusting himself off.

Hidan gave him a strange look.

"Why the hell would I want your herbal paste?"

"Well," the masked jonin considered, "you've got a lot of cuts. You're loosing a lot of blood."

"It'll come back."

"You'll get it all over your sheets before it does, and then they'll be horribly uncomfortable to sleep in," Kakashi pointed out.

At this, Hidan actually stopped to consider the offer.

"Does the stuff actually work?"

"Yup. I've tried it myself," Kakashi confirmed, a strange smile still playing under his mask.

"Fine. Where's your room?" Hidan walked into the inn, and Kakashi followed wordlessly. He walked down the hall with the Akatsuki member following him, and stopped in front of his door to open it and gesture for the other man to step inside.

Hidan walked in confidently, ducking a little to let his scythe through. Clearly, he thought he was in no danger, since it was only the room of a slightly crazy civilian man. He looked around at the plain room that looked exactly like his own, and his eyes settled on Kakashi's travel pack.

"Where's this stupid paste?"

"Right here," Kakashi walked over to the pack and rummaged in it for a while, pulling out the small jar of healing salve that Konoha shinobi took with them on missions in case of emergencies.

Hidan eyed the glass jar of brown paste suspiciously. However, since he was immortal, he knew that it couldn't really do anything to him even if it didn't work, so he shrugged and held out his hand.

"Give it."

"It has to be applied," Kakashi said softly, turning the lid of the jar, "go lie flat on the sheets."

"I'm not fucking letting you rub the stupid paste on me. I can do that myself," Hidan drawled, holding out his hand.

"I have training as a civilian doctor. I can help, even if you're a shinobi," Kakashi told him, refusing to relinquish the jar and eyeing the man's slashed hitai-ite.

"I'm an ex-shinobi. There's a fucking difference and all you stupid civilians had better learn it," he crossed his arms.

"Oh. Well, sorry about that. Ex-shinobi it is. I'm still not letting you handle it. I don't want you wasting it by putting on too much. It's slightly expensive," Kakashi gestured at the sheets again.

Hidan spent a moment in thought, and then realized that this was probably more beneficial that going back to his room and waiting another hour for all the ritual's cuts to heal. He gave Kakashi a patronizing look and reluctantly went to lie down on his back on top of the sheets, placing his scythe next to him with a loud clang.

Kakashi busied himself in taking out a pair of iryounin-gloves that were in his survival pack, slipping them on with a snap and then removing the lid from the jar. He took his own time slowly reaching into the jar with two gloved fingers and scooping out a bit of salve. Then he slowly began spreading it over Hidan's largest cut, which ran diagonally across his chest. He reached back into the jar and repeated the process.

"I think you're slightly fucked in the head," Hidan observed in a monotone after a few seconds of silence.

"I've been told that, yes," Kakashi replied nonchalantly.

"Do you not see the _giant fucking scythe _next to your leg?"

"Yes, I do see it. My remaining eye is not that bad."

"Does it not _bother you_?"

Kakashi simply gave him another smile, "shinobi – sorry, ex-shinobi – are supposed to kill people, right? I come from a shinobi family," he lied, his eyes crinkling from the smile as he massaged more of the salve in.

"The fuck happened to you, then?"

"I wasn't good enough. My body's not very strong, you see; I've always been a little sickly. And one of my eyes is ruined. I just couldn't keep up with a shinobi lifestyle," he told him plainly, reaching for more of the salve.

"Lame. Seriously," Hidan muttered, wincing slightly as the paste went a little too deep in one of the cuts.

"Maybe," Kakashi said, "but I wouldn't want to be a shinobi anyway. Too busy. I'd rather be like this."

"You'd rather be a useless fuck?"

"Whatever you'd like to call it."

There were a few more minutes of silence as Kakashi finished tending to the man's wounds. Then he put the jar away.

"Finished. They're closing already. How do you feel?"

"Better. But also…a lot more _awake. _What is this?" Hidan watched him suspiciously.

"Well, this is designed for shinobi on missions. When they're injured, the last thing they want to do is fall asleep where their enemies can find them. So there's a certain drug in here that keeps you awake for a while," Kakashi smiled.

"So…I'm going to be awake all night? What the hell!"

"Not _all _night. Just for an hour or so. Then all your tiredness will come back at once and you'll go right to sleep."

"What am I supposed to do for a fucking hour, then?"

Kakashi shrugged, "do you have any hobbies?"

"I sacrifice people for Jashin-sama," Hidan deadpanned, seemingly testing how far the sanity of the civilian man would go.

"Jashin-sama?" Kakashi asked instead.

Hidan broke into a small smile at someone showing interest in his god.

"Jashin-sama is the one and only god. He gave me my immortality."

Kakashi tilted his head to one side, "you're immortal? That's interesting."

"Damn right I am. Seriously. There are four basic tenants of Jashin-kyo, and I abide by all of them," he sat up and crossed his arms, "I'll tell you about them."

Kakashi smiled, "oh please do, it sounds fascinating. I've never been a religious person but I would love to learn. Hold on, I think I have some sake in my pack that we can talk over…"

ooooo

"And then, the priest said that _I _was going to hell. Can you fucking believe that? I gave the bastard one of my favorite ritual kills – one stab right into my gut – and he went up and fucking met Jashin-sama that very night. You'd wonder what the fuck he thought then, eh? Going to hell my ass," Hidan slurred an hour later, completely inebriated.

Kakashi watched him with a smile. Unlike the Jashinist, he was still on his first cup and completely sober.

"So this ritual, what's it like?" He asked, looking curious.

"It's fucking amazing. Jashin-sama likes sacrifices better than anything, because all humans have to die and sacrifices make it faster. First I need to get the worthless blasphemer's blood, and then Jashin-sama will let me connect his body to mine," he smiled a deranged smile, "and then…all I have to do is hurt myself and it feels fucking heavenly. Because Jashin-sama's power runs in though all the blood that spills out, ya know?"

Kakashi inwardly winced. This man was completely obsessed.

"So the sacrifice goes to…Jashin-sama…when you stab yourself?"

"Yeah, pretty much. The stupid blasphemer gets hurt like me, except they feel the fucking _pain _and they die because they aren't immortal because Jashin-sama didn't bless them because they aren't fucking worthy," he leaned forward a little bit, and Kakashi had to reach forward and push him upright.

"Give me another, asshole," he held the sake cup out.

Kakashi frowned, "well, you should be getting sleepy soon, and if you drink anymore you'll have a hangover."

"Does it fucking look like I care? What part of 'I'm immortal' do you not understand?"

"Er…what does that have to do with hangovers?"

"I heal quickly you idiot!"

Ah, Kakashi scratched his head, that was why it had taken the entire bottle for him to get inebriated. His body healed quickly, and it was cleansing his bloodstream as the sake entered.

"But I'm very interested in Jashin-kyo," Kakashi continued, "will you show me one of your rituals? I know this nice place out in the forest where no one will see you."

Hidan looked positively pleased and smiled widely, forgetting about the lack of sake in his cup, "hell yeah! I'll find a sacrifice and get you tomorrow in the morning. I usually don't do the rituals until night but...there's nothing against it. Jashin-sama will like being pleased first thing in the morning," he smiled again, and then frowned, "oi…I'm getting tired…"

"The salve is wearing off. I think you should return to your room," Kakashi told him. He reached over and lifted him up, used to this from his experience with Gai after every one of their jonin celebrations.

After returning the man to his own room, Kakashi slipped out the back of the inn.

He had a trap to set.

**ooooo**

**The idea of Hidan being able to die of hunger is taken from his wiki page. Also, according to the wiki, Sakura was one of the smartest students in their graduating class (Shikamaru is a genius, but he was probably too lazy to show it). **

**Thanks for all the reviews, fellow fanfictioners ^_^ **


	7. The Akatsuki's Zonbi Conbi

**Chapter 7 - Hidan and Kakuzu of the Akatsuki**

"Time to get up!" Kakashi announced at six in the morning. The place didn't really have any door-locks, so he had been able to barge right in.

Naruto groaned and turned over in his sheets, still tired and sore all over from yesterday's 'training'.

"Go away shensei…" he muttered.

"Mou…I'm serious. You have to get up now," Kakashi stood in front of his form, "In a few minutes Hidan will come and get me, and you need to be out and practicing by then."

At this, Naruto opened his eyes fully and sat up in his bed, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. He was still dressed in his orange jumpsuit; he never bothered to bring his pajamas on missions. Kakashi had told him that it was more than a little unhygienic, but that didn't say very much when coming from the man who drank liquids right through his mask.

"Hidan? You've spoken to him?"

"Yes. And I think we're become good friends," Kakashi's smile reached his eyes, "He'll be buried alive by noon." He couldn't help but feel a little pride that he was about to take down an SS-class missing-nin by himself.

"You work quickly, sensei. So I suppose there won't be any flashy battles?"

"I am an anbu at heart. We work from the shadows. Quietly and efficiently," the jonin told him while he scrambled to get up and brush down his jumpsuit.

"What's for breakfast?"

"Breakfast? What breakfast? We're heading out to the back so that the anbu can continue to watch you train while I leave with Hidan," Kakashi pulled him up and shoved two water balloons into his hands, "take these and follow me."

Naruto groaned at first, and then grinned and followed his sensei out of the room, "just think, team Konoha's first victory will be today!"

"Team Konoha?" Kakashi asked, amused.

"That's what I've named us. Gaara said we're going to work in partners, right? So we need names."

"I think 'Team Kakashi' sounds very traditional-"

"Oi! Let me in there too!"

"Fine. Team Konoha it is," Kakashi asked, rubbing his head as the early morning light struck them. He smiled at his student as they reached the clearing, and sat down with his back to a tree as Naruto began to concentrate his chakra into one of the water balloons, opening his book to the dog-eared page.

"Act slightly angry with me," he muttered quietly enough for the anbu to not hear. Naruto gave him a slight glance of acknowledgement but didn't respond.

After thirty minutes had passed, he pretended to shift uncomfortably on the hard ground.

"I'm going to go read inside. I can't find a good position out here. Call me when you're ready, alright?" He stood up and brushed himself off.

"Kakashi-sensei! First you leave me out here with these stupid balloons and now you're going to go rest in the shade? What kind of sensei are you?" Naruto yelled angrily. It was quite believable. No one would ever say Naruto was not an actor.

Kakashi smiled patronizingly, "one must teach their ducklings how to fly on their own, Naru-chan."

"Ducklings don't fly!"

"Well then you'll be the first. Call me when you've got it down," Kakashi gave him a wave and ducked beneath the sign-board to the inn.

Naruto nodded grumpily, knowing that he was going inside to wait for Hidan.

Kakashi walked slowly back through the back entrance of the inn, nose still buried in his book. When he entered the hall, he looked up to see Hidan banging on his door.

"Oi! Asshole! Get up already!"

"Yo," Kakashi raised his hand in a wave.

The Akatsuki member turned to see him with an irritated look, "where the fuck have you been?"

"I get up really early do go on walks with my book," Kakashi explained, "it's a very good book. It keeps me company."

"Seems perfect that the only person who's ever shown any interest in my religion is completely fucked up in the head," Hidan muttered under his breath, "well come on then. Let's get started," he gestured for Kakashi to follow him to his room.

The jonin followed, only to see a young wide-eyed boy tied up in one corner. The poor child couldn't have been any older than ten, and he was shivering inside his ropes. Kakashi frowned. He didn't want to see the boy die…

"Are you going to kill him now?" He asked Hidan, who walked over to the boy and slung him over one shoulder.

"Hell no! Only fresh blood is good enough for Jashin-sama! Killing him is part of the ritual you moron!" He grunted as the boy struggled briefly on his shoulder.

"Although if this brat keeps moving around…"

Thankfully, the boy stopped immediately. Kakashi followed the Akatsuki member out of the inn.

"It's this way," he gestured in the direction of the forest, "there's a nice clearing."

"In that forest? Yeah, that's where I did my sacrifice yesterday too," Hidan nodded, a gleam of pleasure in his eye. Kakashi smiled and continued to lead the way. They walked in mostly silence, with the young boy's occasional sniffle through his gag.

"Do they…have to be so young?" Kakashi asked curiously.

"Nah. But young is better, 'cause there's a better chance that they're virgins. You never know with the others," the other man replied, "Jashinism doesn't mention virgins explicitly, but I like to go the extra mile."

Kakashi shivered a little, and gave the little boy a pitying look. The poor kid was watching him with desperation in his eyes.

Ten minutes later they arrived at the small clearing in the forest at the edge of the village. Hidan looked around, and then threw the boy down with a thump, reaching over to pull his ropes off. However, when he looked up it was with a tired expression.

"Hey listen, when I woke up this morning to speak to my partner, the fucker thinks that I shouldn't trust masked civilians. So I though, hey, if you're not masked what's the problem?" Hidan scratched his neck casually, "so before I start the ritual, take the stupid mask off. Just so my fucked-up partner won't try to lecture me."

Kakashi considered his options. Clearly, he couldn't let the ritual begin. Letting the poor civilian boy die was out of the question. But the mask…it didn't really matter, did it? The man was going to die – as best as he _could _die – anyway. He could handle feeling exposed for a few minutes if it meant he could get a perfect surprise attack in.

The trap in the forest was set perfectly. He'd spent over three hours in the middle of the night sticking up every last paper bomb, making sure that when they fell, the wire attached to them would cut in exactly the right places. The paper bombs piled under the soil of the forest floor would explode at exactly the right moment, creating a deep ditch that Hidan would fall into. Just as Naruto had described. However, Hidan needed to stay still…

He spent a moment to reconsider. He hadn't shown his face to anyone since his own father. Not Obito, not Rin, not Gai. Was he really willing to do so in front of a stranger? Even if it would help him trap the man perfectly…

He swallowed and made his decision. His fingers slowly paused at the top of his mask, before he hooked them underneath and slowly began to pull it off. At this point, Hidan was raising an eyebrow.

"Are you ugly or something too? Holy fuck, you have the worst luck ever. A one-eyed, weak, useless guy from a shinobi family who spends his time reading smut on the street. Ah well, not like I care," He looked up with a gleam in his eye and smiled at Kakashi, "Listen, I know you're probably insane or something, but this is really fucking cool, you know? I mean, no one's ever asked to watch before. When I was young and there were other priests of Jashin-kyo, they'd tell me to try and spread the religion so that all the heathens could covert and acknowledge Jashin-sama. But whenever I tried, the fuckers would just laugh at me and I'd have to use them for my sacrifices. So thanks, asshole. Since you're a civilian, you won't be able to do any of the sacrifices, but you'll still go to heaven when you die. You'll be my very first convert," he said proudly.

Kakashi had still barely revealed his nose. For once, he was hesitating.

"Oi asshole, we don't have time for your beauty issues right now. Take the fucking thing off."

Kakashi swallowed and ripped it off in one motion, baring his face for the first time in twenty years. The mask fell to the ground.

"You look just fucking fine to me. Now watch this, you're gonna be amazed," he took his stance and lifted his scythe, prepared to leap at the boy who was cowering beneath a tree. Suddenly he froze in his spot.

"Wait a minute. I know you…you were in the bingo book twenty years ago! How the fuck-"

As Hidan stood there in surprise watching his revealed face, Kakashi didn't waste a single second. He quickly brought his hands up.

"Bak!"

The second after saying that, he dove at the young boy, covering him completely with his body. The forest exploded with noise.

First were the ones attached to the trees. The erupted with a burst and zipping sounds were heard as the wire flew across the clearing, slicing thought Hidan's body.

Next were the ones buried under the soil. The all exploded at once with a giant boom and the earth beneath them collapsed, creating a giant gaping hole in the ground.

This happened in the perfectly timed method he had set up the previous night. The hole was created just as the wire sliced though, sending bits and pieces of Hidan into the ground as it opened up.

Kakashi stayed at the edge of the clearing for a moment. The little boy was crying his eyes out and digging his small hands into his blue shirt, and he rubbed little circles into the boy's arms before prying himself away to check if his plan had worked.

"HATAKE SAKUMO! I DON'T FUCKING CARE WHY YOU'RE ALIVE, ALL I KNOW IS THAT YOU'RE GOING TO FUCKING DIE! YOU HEAR THAT? I'LL COME BITE YOUR FUCKING HEATHEN HEAD OFF! JASHIN-SAMA WILL TORTURE YOU, AND YOU'LL FUCKING DESERVE IT!"

Kakashi walked calmly over to the pit, and looked inside. At the very bottom was Hidan, in bits and pieces as he had expected. All that was moving was half of his head. He had no idea why the man was still able to talk.

"I MAY BE IN PIECES BUT ALL I NEED TO KILL YOU IS MY TEETH, SERIOUSLY! I'LL FUCKING CASTRATE YOU WITH MY TEETH AND RIP YOUR HEART OU-"

The jonin kicked in some dirt, which landed on top of on the head that was talking. He kicked in some more.

"Shouldn't swear in front of children…" he muttered under his breath. It felt…incredibly strange for the skin of his face to feel the air like this. It wasn't something he wanted to repeat.

He stood there for a while, slowly kicking one footfull of dirt after another into the hole. Eventually, the little boy who had been cowering near the tree slowly approached. Kakashi considered going over and covering the boy's eyes, but he knew it was best if he saw for himself that his torturer had disappeared.

He noticed a little piece of dirt fall in that he hadn't thrown himself. Kakashi looked sideways to find the young civilian boy hesitantly kicking in his own small footfulls of dirt and leaves. He didn't know what to say, so he stayed silent.

Eventually, he heard a patter of footsteps approaching the clearing in a run. Naruto was back. He turned his back to Naruto, who had arrived at the edge of the clearing, panting.

"I heard the explosions, what happened?" Naruto paused as he saw Kakashi reach down and slip his mask back over his face before turning towards him.

"Hidan is finished," the jonin told him.

"Aww, he got to see your face?! That's so unfair!" Naruto whined, punching his knee in irritation, "I've been trying for ages!"

"It served as a good distraction. I look like my father, who he knows from the front pages of the bingo books," Kakashi said, watching as Naruto ran over to the little boy who had looked up from his grave-filling as the blond boy approached.

Naruto dropped to his knees in front of him, resting his hands on the boy's shoulders.

"Come on, kid. Tell me what he looked like! He's my sensei, I wanna know I wanna know I wanna know!"

The little boy blinked up with wide brown eyes, "he's the most beautiful person in all the lands," he reported.

Naruto raised an eyebrow.

"He saved my life," the boy clarified.

"Pretend he didn't. What does he look like?"

"Well…he's still a very pretty-looking oji-san," the boy decided, "and he saved my life from the crazy person."

"Little kid helped me fill his grave," Kakashi came over and ruffled the boy's hair, "he'll grow up well. Go back home, alright?"

"Ok! What's your name, oji-san?" The boy asked before he went.

"Hatake Kakashi. If you ever come to Konoha, you can visit me if you like," Kakashi gave him a smile from underneath his mask.

The boy giggled and ran off.

"I think he's going to be traumatized," Naruto commented.

"He'll get over it."

"More importantly, he called you _pretty_! Not 'handsome' or 'good-looking', but _pretty_! Who knew Kakashi-sensei was girly!"

"Poor kid didn't know any other adjectives."

"Sure. Listen, come with me quickly so I can dispel. I wanna know what's going on with Boss."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow, "dispel?"

"Yeah. I'm a clone. Boss is currently engaging Kakuzu, and Main is at the inn fooling the anbu," he reported, "if you're done, you might want to go help him out. I have to go back anyway before I dispel, cause I've got ten minutes of memory with me. If I dispel here while Boss is in the middle of an attack, I might distract him."

"Ah. Let's go then," Kakashi sped after the retreating clone, "how is Naruto holding up?"

"When he called me, he was doing ok. He'd managed to get the guy by surprise and take out one of his hearts with Rasengan, and then he took out another with his rasen-shuriken."

"A-another heart?" Kakashi frowned.

"Oh. That's right, I haven't briefed you on Kakuzu yet. You see, he and Hidan are the Akatsuki's Zombi Combi. Kakuzu can't die unless you take out all five of his hearts, and he can take other people's hearts to replace the ones he loses," the clone reported, "Naruto took out the Katon and Fuuton hearts, he still has three giant monster-like-things that can use Suiton, Raiton, and Doton."

"Ah, so these hearts act like people with different affinities? It's good that he took out the Katon first then, since I'm guessing he is a Fuuton user," Kakashi nodded, "how did we manage to defeat this person in the future?"

"Well…you didn't tell me much about the fight before I arrived. Boss used the rasen-shuriken on him and took out his last heart," the clones explained, "but I'm not so sure he'll fall for that again," he turned around to face Kakashi when they were close to the grounds where they could hear the fight happening.

"Listen, you need to get at least one surprise attack in. That's the best way to take out the hearts, it's hard to get to them when he's prepared. Go in with Chidori or Raikiri. Try to take out the Doton heart, the one with the greenish mask," the clone turned to hide himself in the bushes and wait for a good time to dispel.

Kakashi walked in closer and scouted for a hiding place.

"-Even better than you're a Jinchuuriki," Kakuzu spat out, "Leader-sama asked us to gather info on the remaining ones anyway."

"You'll never get all of them!" Naruto yelled. He felt his levels of sennin chakra dropping fast. It was time to dispel another one of the gathering-clones. Gritting his teeth, he allowed the next influx of sennin chakra to flow into him.

"We've almost got the Nibi as well, kid. It's only a matter until the rest follow," Kakuzu replied, lazily smashing one of Naruto's clones.

Naruto himself suddenly stilled as another clone's memories poured into him. Kakashi was ready to provide backup. That was good. Now all he needed to do was get ready and allow the jonin lots of space to attack with.

"Yeah, we'll you might want to ask your partner if that's true. Oh wait, he's _dead,_" Naruto stuck his tongue out at the Akatsuki member.

"If you were able to defeat my partner, you would know that he _does not die. _Bluffing doesn't suit you, kid."

"I'm not bluffing. You see, there is a way that he can be the equivalent of dead. When he's in a thousand little pieces. Buried deep underground. For days on end," he smirked, "you're on your own, stitch-face."

Kakuzu narrowed his eyes, "you're lying."

"I don't see why I should. Why isn't your lovely partner coming to your rescue right now. You're supposed to work as a team, right?" Naruto brought his hands up and slowly began to form another rasen-shuriken.

Kakuzu's heart-monsters immediately lined themselves up in front of him for protection, prepared to shield him from the attack in case he didn't move in time. Naruto grinned inwardly. Just a little longer…

"I mean, surely someone like me would make a great sacrifice for his precious Jashin-sama…"

"Listen, brat. I have no ide-"

Before he could finish the sentence, Kakashi was there with a shunshin almost as fast as sound itself. One of his arms was buried inside Kakuzu's chest, protruding out from the front. The sound of little chirps filled the air.

"Chidori!"

Kakuzu let out what seemed like a groan before the heart Kakashi had destroyed melted to the ground. Nearby, one of the other hearts morphed into Kakuzu's main form.

"Why you-!"

Kakashi jumped back just in time to avoid the jagged peaks of water that flew at him from one of the remaining hearts. In front of him, two Naruto-clones were destroyed.

"One more down," he muttered, retreating to stand by Naruto's real form.

"Thanks, that was awesome!" Naruto yelled back.

"However-" Kakashi didn't have any time to finish the sentence before a gust filled with sharp pin-pricks of lightning flew at them.

"I've decided that I don't care," Kakuzu's main form began to mutter, "I don't want your hearts anymore…I'd rather you just died."

Naruto gulped. It seemed that he had delayed being serious until now. Now, he was glaring at them as if they were the very bane of his existence. There was only one way out of this…

"Hey stitch-freak, I've got a question for you!" Naruto began, "how far down do those stitches go?!" He stuck his tongue out.

Nearby, Kakashi face-palmed. He had no idea what his student was attempting to do, and he wasn't sure he wanted to know.

"Die," was the only word Kakuzu spoke. The Lightning Heart leapt at him.

_Wait…just wait a little bit more…_Naruto convinced himself not to move.

"Naruto! Get out of the way!" Kakashi yelled, seeing the Heart headed right towards him.

"I can take him!" Naruto yelled. He put his fists out, making it seem like he planned to punch the monster. As it came closer, he smiled. His hands went lower, and he discreetly formed a hand-seal just as the front of the Heart blocked Kakuzu from seeing what he was doing. When it was the right distance away, he brought both hands up. In between them was a flaring circle of blue.

"Rasen-shuriken, special stand-still attack!" He yelled, holding the spinning chakra in front of him.

The Heart, not being able to overcome the momentum and turn back, crashed right into him. Naruto's rasen-shuriken pounded into it, destroying it completely. However, it also managed to send him flying backwards. Crashing head-first into a tree, Naruto managed to flip himself up when he slid down its base, and looked tiredly at Kakashi with blood running out of his mouth.

"Last one's yours sensei…s'a little present from me," he promptly passed out.

Kakashi sighed and turned back to watch Kakuzu's main body. The Akatsuki member was standing in place, seemingly decided whether he wanted to risk continuing the fight after having lost all his extra hearts for the first time in over fifty years. Finally, he decided that the opposing side had also taken a sufficient blow – the loss of Naruto fighting – and turned to the masked jonin.

"Listen, boy. I've been fighting for longer than you've been alive. Might want to start praying or something."

Kakashi shrugged, "no way. I've had enough of those religious things from when I destroyed Hidan," he had begun to see the merits of Naruto's provoke-anger plan. Every genin knew that an angry shinobi usually didn't perform well. However, there was a fine line between the level of anger that would weaken an enemy and the level that would cause him to become stronger than ever, so most shinobi did not use it as a tactic.

"He was actually rather nice for a religious nut who liked sacrificing people in his spare time. He seemed very proud of having me as his first convert," he winked with his Sharingan eye, "too bad he went out yelling obscenities at me."

He could see that Kakuzu was barely managing to keep his anger in. It wasn't purely the idea that Hidan was defeated. It was more of the realization that without Hidan, he would be back to those useless partners that he ended up killing after a month. Hidan had been hopelessly annoying and an expensive person to keep, but at least he didn't die on him.

"That's too bad then, you should've taken him up. Because you're headed straight to hell," Kakuzu said softly, right before needle-sharp daggers of water shot from his hands.

"Then tell me what it's like, ok?" Kakashi's clone disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"Wha-"

"Chidori!" Kakashi yelled, throwing his arm forward from his position behind Kakuzu's head. Flashy battles were nice, but he was an anbu by heart. Knowing how to appear behind his enemy was one thing he would never rust in. Even Shisui of the Shunshin had once praised his talents as a young anbu.

At the last moment, Kakuzu shifted from underneath him. Kakashi's eyes widened as he realized that the back of the man's heart was no longer reachable to him. Then he narrowed his eyes again in the split second it took him to drive the blade of lighting deep into the Akatsuki member's skull.

He leapt back as the lightning consumed the man's body. Landing a safe distance away, he kept all his senses at full alert, checking for any signs of motion from the charred body laying in front of him. After almost a minute, he slowly relaxed his muscles, placing the kunai in his hand back into his pouch.

Sighing, he eyed Naruto's limp form leaning against the tree on the other side of the clearing. Leaping over, he placed one of Naruto's arms over his shoulder and dragged the unconscious boy up. With Naruto falling unconscious here, the clone back at the inn that was fooling the anbu would have dispelled as well. The clone couldn't stay conscious if the Main was knocked out. He had some explaining to do…

Eyeing the Akatsuki corpse lying in the middle of the clearing, a plan began to form in his head.

ooooo

Almost eight hours later, Naruto found himself shuffling in the waiting room of the Hokage's tower. He wasn't exactly sure what had happened, all he remembered was waking up an discovering that Kakashi had thrown him over one shoulder and was carrying him through the trees back to Konoha. It seemed that they had come directly to the Hokage's tower, even before Kakashi had let him take a shower. Some of the paper-pushers were sullenly eying the bloodstains he left on the seat. Kakashi sat beside him in silence, reading his book and shifting it out of view whenever Naruto attempted to read it over his shoulder.

Finally, an attendant opened the door and waved them in.

"Hokage-sama will see you know."

Naruto followed his sensei in with a sense of dread, suddenly feeling the urge to bash his head against a tree as he remembered how stupid he had been. Letting himself get knocked out while fighting Kakuzu would have dispelled the clone that he had left training with water balloons to fool the anbu. Now he was under the Hokage's suspicion. Lovely.

He gulped and told himself firmly to leave all the talking to Kashi-sensei and just nod whenever appropriate.

"Kakashi. Naruto," the Sandaime Hokage gave them a searching look, "what exactly happened?'

"I realize that your anbu sent you a message to report, Hokage-sama. I thought I'd save you the trouble and come here myself," Kakashi explained.

"Ah, you found the anbu," the Hokage raised an eyebrow, "it was necessary to send them. You see, a while ago Jiraiya had sent me a report with suspicions that there were anbu members west of Konoha, near the small town you two planned to visit. Of course, for some reason he sent me a report yesterday that vehemently claimed everything in his previous report was incorrect, and that he had personally seen these Akatsuki on the opposite side of Fire Country, but I couldn't take any chances. Not with Naruto there."

Kakashi nodded, "I understand, Hokage-sama."

Suddenly, the Sandaime's eyes narrowed, "however, that does not explain why my anbu discovered that they were watching a clone of Naruto training, and why they had found an Akatsuki corpse in a forest nearby. You have much explaining to do, Hatake Kakashi."

His sensei sighed a dramatic sigh. Naruto looked on with barely concealed glee, preparing himself to see one of Kakashi-sensei's signature techniques: the art of fabrication.

"You see," the jonin began, "I was teaching Naruto the Rasengan technique when I saw that one of our fellow inn-stayers was a missing-nin that I recognized as an Akatsuki member. I saw a chance to take him out, and so I told Naruto that I was going after a missing-nin, and that there were anbu from Konoha that would protect him while I was gone. The missing-nin's name was Hidan, page one-hundred-eighty-six of this year's Bingo Book. After I took him down, I encountered a clone of Naruto's."

He paused to give a dramatic sigh, "It turns out that Naruto had found Hidan's partner, who he only recognized as a generic missing-nin due to his slashed hitai-ite. Since he had just finished learning the rasengan, he foolishly decided that he would capture this missing-nin – Kakuzu – and bring him back for interrogation, leaving a clone to fool the anbu. Somehow, he managed to survive a little while due to the fact that he could use the rasengan and that Kakuzu _greatly _underestimated him. When Naruto realized that he was in trouble, he sent a clone to find me just as I had defeated Hidan. I rushed over just as Naruto collapsed, his unconscious state dispelling his clones. Using a combination of what Jiraiya had told me about his Akatsuki member, and my lightning techniques, I somehow brought him down and left him for the anbu to find."

There was a long moment of silence as the Hokage digested the information. Finally, he turned to Naruto.

"Naruto-kun, I want you to know exactly how foolish that move was. You could have died, and you weren't nearly prepared to go up against a missing-nin. Running off without Kakashi-san also shows a great lack of teamwork and _thinking _in general. To punish you for this, you will have two more months of the simplest d-ranks I can find, before you even _think _of trying a c-rank. Hopefully these missions will teach you exactly why shinobi work in teams," he finished, turning to Kakashi.

"Kakashi-san. I would lecture you for going after an S-class missing-nin without sending word for backup, but it was clear that you could handle yourself. I'm frankly amazed that you were able to take out two Akatsuki members, but I suppose I should have expected no less from you. Take these d-ranks for your team as a break to relax, my gift to you. Also, since we still have the body of Kakuzu, you will be paid be paid the amount specified on his head in his Bingo Book entry since you captured him. Hopefully you can find a good use for the money that doesn't involve those books."

Finally, he turned back to Naruto with a slight crinkle in his eyes.

"Oh, and Naruto-kun, congratulations on having mastered the Rasengan. It is a formidable jutsu. Yondaime-sama would have been proud."

The warmth in Naruto's chest grew as he returned the old man's smile, following Kakashi and standing up at their dismissal. For the entire walk out of the tower, he was absolutely elated.

"Mou…" the jonin walking beside him muttered, "Kakuzu was too profitable…what am I going to do with all of this money?"

"Buy some milk!" Naruto barked, "just like you've been planning to for the last three weeks!"

"If I wanted I could buy out a year's worth of milk, Naruto-kun."

"Nah. It'd spoil."

"That wasn't my point…"

Naruto though hard, "maybe you could buy a bigger place. With an actual kitchen."

The jonin shrugged, "I don't need a bigger place, my apartment suits my needs. And Gai-san would hunt me down if I tried to leave the jonin apartment compound."

"I was thinking more along the lines of using it for our little project. Jiraiya-san makes enough money off his books to fund his and Gaara's trip, but I think we both know a certain kunoichi who is probably in desperate need of money," Kakashi smiled, "We could use this as bait."

Naruto grinned from ear to ear, "that's perfect! Tsunade-baa-chan would do anything for someone who paid off her gambling debts!"

"Wonderful. I'll ask Jiraiya to send one of his toads so I can send it back with the money," Kakashi ran a hand through his hair, "what did you think of my story back there?"

Naruto's good mood vanished.

"Oi! You took all the credit!"

**ooooo**

**So as some of you have realized, I have recently discovered the ability to respond to reviews! So if you have questions or comments, leave a review and I'll reply ^_^**


	8. A New Team: Slug Princess & Demon Cat

**Chapter 8 - A Tentative Team: The Slug Princess and the Demon Cat**

"How much farther?" a small white haired boy panted out.

"Not far. My contacts say she comes up here to train every Saturday at eight in the morning," Jiraiya replied, looking sideways at Gaara's henge, "what's wrong? Running out of breath already?"

"My body…it's not used to this much exertion," Gaara stopped to take a break, "when I was young, I rarely moved when I fought. As such, I wasn't used to walking for over six hours, nor was I used to waking up at three in the morning to do so."

Jiraiya frowned, "doesn't this mean that you're not nearly as strong as you were in the future?"

"No," the boy shook his white hair, "this is beneficial to me. Many others, such as Naruto, suffer a regression of skill because our bodies are younger and more inexperienced. He must train in order to regain his taijutsu. However, I only use chakra control to manipulate my sand, and my chakra reserves are large due to Shukaku. I am very close to the level I was upon becoming Kazekage. It is true, thought, that I am slightly weaker because my body is not up to par. To a ninja, his body is just as much a part of his jutsu as his chakra, even if he does not perform taijutsu."

"I see…," Jiraiya commented, letting the tired boy take the lead, "is there anything that'll prevent you from fighting well? You were the Kazekage, and Naruto tells me that you're a formidable opponent, but it still doesn't fell right putting a eleven-year old boy up against the Akatsuki…"

"You may trust my skill," Gaara responded confidently, "two of the stronger Akatsuki members at once may be too much for me, but I can handle one."

The toad sage smiled and ruffled the young Kazekage's hair, noticing how the boy stiffened underneath his hand, "then I'm counting on you to kick ass, Gaara-san!"

They were situated in the mountainous regions at the edge of Kumogakure, right outside the legal border. After dragging his 'father' home from a suspicious place for the fifth time that month, Gaara had finally questioned the toad sage about what exactly he was doing, for which Jiraiya replied with information on where the Nibi's Jinchuuriki, Yugito Nii, was located. It seemed that his nightly activities had some merit in them after all. They were headed towards the abandoned temple at the top of a hill in a forest clearing high up. Supposedly, it was the place the Jinchuuriki woman went in order to train every morning. She was a disciplined type, and everyone they had asked of her had mentioned that she was dedicated towards becoming one of the most famous kunoichi in all the lands.

"Would you like to ride on Gamakichi, Gaara-san?" Jiraiya asked after seeing Gaara fall back again.

"No," the young Kazekage said though his teeth, "your summons are slimy, and incredible uncomfortable to use as transportation."

"Well, you won't need to walk for much longer. There's the temple," the Toad Sage pointed at the broken down stone building at the top of the hill, "it matches the one that was described to me. Let's go find this Jinchuuriki."

Gaara eyed the distance, "Yes, I think I can hold on until then," he pushed himself to walk faster.

Suddenly, the ground shook. It only lasted for a few seconds, but there was definitely a shake; the shake of an explosion. Both shinobi looked up sharply to see a few rocks fly out of one of the shattered windows of the temple. Inside, a bomb had gone off.

"Maybe we should wait until after she finishes her training," Jiraiya muttered, "she doesn't seem to take it lightly."

Beside him, Gaara had paled even further, "no. Its…them. In the letter Naruto sent about Hidan and Kakuzu, he mentioned that Kakuzu had said they had already located the Nibi…" he grabbed Jiraiya's sleeve and pulled at it, "we have to hurry."

Jiraiya gave the temple a calculating look. When another explosion detonated at the other side, sending stone flying out, he nodded, "seems like our ally needs some help. Let's go silently, Gaara-san. We can surprise them."

The two took off at full speed. Gaara had momentarily forgotten his tiredness and was pushing his young legs as fast as they could go, with Jiraiya covering much more ground in front.

"Go on, Jiraiya-san! I will catch up!" He yelled out.

The toad sage stopped and nodded, removing a scroll from his back pocket. He quickly placed his palm in the middle, activating the storage scroll.

"Here's your sand, Gaara-san. Meet me at the temple," Jiraiya turns and sped forward even faster. The sand was left in a pile on top of the scroll.

He watched the older man disappear in front as he made it to the top of the hill, sand following in a cloud behind him. In front of him, the stone building was shaking even further. Small rocks were flying everywhere. Gaara narrowed his eyes. He remembered _those _ones very well. The Akatsuki member that went by the name Deidara, and his partner, Sasori of Suna. Luckily, he had information to work off. Deidara was quick to anger, but was very intelligent in a serious battle, while Sasori was quiet and calculating but didn't have any wide-range attacks of significance. His sand was the ultimate defense against Deidara's bombs, the Akatsuki member would not stand a chance. Jiraiya, had abilities that would allow him to defend himself easily against Sasori's puppets. The Jinchuuriki woman was a complete mystery to both of them. It was a good scenario; they were faced with some of the weakest Akatsuki members first. If they fought seriously, they could reduce the Akatsuki's numbers even more.

On the other hand, Deidara was a long-range battle type, and could send messages with his flying clay sculptures. If information reached the Akasuki that suna's Jinchuuriki and Jiraiya of the Sannin were actively pursuing their members…

Arriving at the temple, he looked around quickly for any sign of Jiraiya. Eventually, he decided to follow the explosions, which were the clearest indication of the battle. He sped up the stairs of the main entrance of the grand stone temple, keeping his guard high. Instead of rushing in, he placed his back to the outside of the entrance and peered in through the destroyed door.

There was only one giant room in the middle of the temple, with the remains of a single large statue inside. On one side, hiding behind the statue, was Jiraiya. He was holding a struggling blond kunoichi in his arms. On the other side, looking around for their prey, were Deidara and Sasori of the Akatsuki.

ooooo

"Target spotted. I'm going in."

"Just wait a damn minute Sasuke-teme, that's a dog!"

"It'll have to do. It's the same color as the photograph. The stupid woman will never know," the Uchiha boy muttered, eying the stray dog walking calmly down the alley beneath them.

"I think she'll know the species of her own damn pet you idiot!" Naruto yelled. The stray dog looked up to see the two humans standing on the roof above and sped off.

"Now look what you've done!"

"It doesn't matter, Tora is a _cat _dammit!"

"Yo."

A white-haired jonin landed right in between the two genin, startling Naruto out of his shoes.

"Kakashi-sensei. Our mission is close to completion," Sasuke reported.

"Really?" The jonin seemed to be hiding a laugh under his mask, "and how is that?"

"We've spotted our target. Naruto made it run away, but I know where it went and I can retrieve it."

"That would be rather difficult, seeing as I'm quite sure you did _not _spot the target."

"See Sasuke-teme? Even Kashi-sensei agrees that it was a dog," Naruto stuck his tongue out.

"The stupid cat isn't in Konoha! We've scoured every single street in the village, and we've even used up all of the catnip Sakura bought for bait! It's probably run away to another country, and good riddance," Sasuke decided.

"I'm not exactly sure about this dog you say you found, but I do know that Tora the cat is currently in Konoha," Kakashi told them.

"That cat is nowhere to be found!" Sasuke gritted his teeth, "how many more hours are you going to make us search?"

"I agree! I'm hungry!" Naruto whined.

"Well, it turns out that Tora was actually hiding in the Daimyo's wife's bathtub. She didn't realize it until she went for her evening bath," Kakashi reported, "Sandaime-sama informed me of that, so I though I'd come take the two of you our of your misery. I found Sakura in time to stop her from buying bucket loads of catnip, she's on her way to the training grounds."

Sasuke and Naruto both gave him blank looks.

After a while, Naruto was the first to speak, "are we getting paid, at least?!"

"Well, technically speaking you did _not _bring Tora back to her owner-"

"Sensei I am perfectly capable of breaking into her house and _bringing _the damn cat back in–"

"No, Sasuke. These things happen. Learn how to accept them," the smile was back underneath his mask, "now I believe you two have a pretty girl waiting for you."

"Are you really going to make us train at this hour, sensei? We've spent the entire day looking for Tora, and now it's dinnertime. I want food! Preferably treated by you!"

"Well I did buy some milk earlier and I suppose I could treat you to some of that…"

"At Ichiraku!" The blond boy crossed his arms over his chest.

Sasuke pondered the idea, "I need to have a little talk with the owner of that place. Maybe if he introduced some different menu items…"

"NO!" Naruto yelled, suddenly remembering the time Ayame-chan had tried to turn her family restaurant into a Tsukemen shop, "that will NEVER happen."

Sasuke looked vaguely surprised at Naruto's intensity, "fine…"

"I wasn't planning on making you train by the way," Kakashi said offhandedly as the two genin followed him across the rooftops to the training grounds, "I was just hoping that my cute students would impress me with their dedication towards learning new jutsu."

"At nine o'clock in the night?" Sasuke asked, "we're all tired and sore."

"Ignore him, sensei. He's only planning on going home to read those scrolls of his," Naruto added, "it would be fun to have a training session now. But only if you treat us to ramen later."

"Mou…fine. I am rather rich these days…"

"Why?" Sasuke perked up, catching the phrase immediately.

Kakashi gave him a look over his shoulder, "oh, that's right, Sasuke-kun does not know yet…should we tell him? Naruto-kun?"

"Yeah!" Naruto cheered, "because I got to fight a super-strong missing-nin!"

Sasuke's eyes narrowed, "and this was during that strange training trip you came back from yesterday?"

"Yes. Some rather interesting things happened," Kakashi added as they all walked into the training grounds where Sakura had been practicing her katas while she waited.

"Involving missing-nin?" Sasuke dug deeper. He really was shrewd sometimes.

"Yeah, what was that trip about, sensei? Why'd you two disappear with no notice?" Sakura added, walking over to them with the sweat still running down her forehead. Recently, she'd gotten more confident about letting Sasuke see her when she was far from perfectly groomed. It was a change that Naruto supported. Sakura wasn't exactly a beauty like Ino made herself to be, but she was good-looking. He thought she looked much better with the sheen of sweat that showed her dedication towards improving in taijutsu.

"Mou…I decided that it would be more efficient if I began training each of you separately in a certain area. I though I'd begin with Naruto so that he had something to work on while I started with you two. I taught him a jutsu that Jiraiya-san once showed me, a jutsu that was invented by the Yondaime."

At this, Sasuke shot Naruto a look that relayed that he was going to ask for a demonstration later on. Naruto cringed inwardly. He had already revealed the Rasengan to his friend, so he would probably have to show off the rasen-shuriken as his 'new technique'.

"What are you going to train us in, sensei?" Sakura asked.

"Well, I have a technique called Raikiri that Sasuke should warm up to. For you, I'll begin the basics of genjutsu. Then I'll set you on a more rigorous physical training schedule, and find some jutsu that corresponds to your affinity," Kakashi scratched his head, "now you three can – "

"You still haven't told us about the missing-nin you fought," Sasuke interjected.

"Ah…right. Well, we found two missing-nin in the little town we went to. I took care of one, and Naruto-kun felt the burning desire to get himself killed, and went after the other one. Luckily I managed to save him and defeat the other missing-nin," he said it in a voice that would have Gai screaming about his 'coolness'.

"Amazing…" Sakura whispered, seeing her sensei in a new light, "you took out _two missing-nin_ without any preparation?"

"No. I took out _one _without preparation. The one Naruto-kun went after. For the other, I prepared hours ahead. A shinobi must always be prepared; flashy battles are one thing, but you have a much better chance of staying alive if you prepare," he instructed, seeming to warm up a little at the respect in his students' eyes, "now since that mission took up the entire day, I think you three should try and catch up on your training. Naruto, Sasuke," he turned towards the two boys, "remember that it takes two months to get your body into shape, and only two weeks to lose that state. When you have warmed up, you can practice your ninjutsu against each other. Sakura," he nodded towards the pinkette, "practice the more advanced katas I showed you yesterday," he instructed.

The three genin nodded and watched their sensei settle down with his back against a tree and his book his one hand.

"Naruto, why don't you show me this new jutsu you learned?" Sasuke asked immediately. At that, the blond boy smiled a little. It had taken weeks, but he had finally gotten Sasuke to stop feeling ashamed when he had to ask for these things. While he was just about to agree excitedly, he felt a small pull in his mindscape and frowned.

"Sorry Sasuke. I think I'm going to go train with my clones for a while. I'm not really up to doing the rasengan right now," he excused himself, "have fun training with Sakura!"

Naruto rushed off, ignoring the pointed look Kakashi was giving him from over his book. Kyuubi wouldn't call him unless….unless he thought his jailer was ready.

The other two knew that Naruto's clones would take up lots of space, and didn't object when he left the training grounds they occupied. Entering training ground eight, he looked around to make sure that no one was nearby before sitting cross legged on the ground and delving completely into the Kurama's sewer.

Once he was inside, he found the giant fox waiting patiently by the bars of his cage, a strange smirk on his face.

"Brat. It took you long enough."

"Sorry, sorry," Naruto rubbed the back of his head, "I had to make sure I was alone first."

"I was watching your fight with the Akatsuki member," Kurama commented airily, "it was most unimpressive."

"What?" Naruto's jaw dropped, "why? I fought well!"

"Not well enough. If that man had not come to rescue you, it would have taken more out of you than it should have. You are still not up to par."

"What! But-"

"Which is why I will start teaching you now."

Naruto stared at the beast in confusion, "I though you were going to wait until I was stronger?"

"There is no time for that. Your young body is still not used to handling such advanced jutsu. Although it adapted to the sage mode nicely, those rasen-shuriken left your tenketsu quite weak. It will take time before you are able to train yourself in that jutsu as well as you had before."

"But that's my most powerful jutsu! I took out three hearts with it!"

"You _should _have been able to take out all five, brat. Stop complaining; I will teach you something which makes your sage mode pale in comparison."

Naruto wisely decided to shut up.

The Kyuubi stretched out within its cage, and positioned itself comfortable in the space.

"Many Jinchuuriki use what is called 'bijuu' mode, in which their bijuu is able to provide them with chakra. When the Rikudo Sennin first created jutsu, he aimed to most effectively use the small amount of chakra most people have within them. The purpose of jutsu is to streamline this chakra, and get the most use out of it by controlling and amplifying it though hand seals. However, the Rikudo Sennin himself had no need for hand seals because he could control the pure, raw chakra of the juubi. Fighting with chakra itself it quite different from fighting with jutsu; instead of amplification, the user must aim for absolute control. He must allow the chakra to flow at exactly the right pace. Jinchuuriki such as the boy who controls Shukaku used too much, and allowed their bijuu's mind to seep in along with the chakra. The Jinchuuriki of the Hachibi had the correct idea."

Kurama paused to see if his jailer understood. Naruto nodded carefully, trying to keep up.

"You, brat, have the worst control of any jailer I have seen so far. Even your mother, with her ridiculously large reserves for a mere human, was able to control her vast chakra better than you."

Naruto pouted, "Oi! I'm only sixteen! I'm learning!"

"Nevertheless, it is a lost cause trying to teach you how to control my chakra. Before that, you must become disciplined and focused. Instead, I have come up with another solution," Kurama told him. Naruto's interest peaked.

"What is it?"

"It involves you opening your chakra streams completely."

The blond boy frowned, "but if I allow you to take over completely like last time, I may not be able to become myself again."

"That is where I play my part. I will take full control of your chakra expulsion, while you will focus on shaping it and fighting with it. The tap that decides how much chakra you may use will be controlled by me," Kurama stated, "however, this means that during bijuu mode, I will also have control of your own chakra, which will meld into mine," The fox was watching him intensely, searching his face for any emotion.

Naruto frowned again. This was risky. He had been told over and over that the bijuu were not to be trusted. But then…he had been the one who had promised Kurama that they would one day become partners. He had started it. If he lost his trust now and seemed to be suspicious, Kurama's surprising charity might end. It was obvious that the beast despised Madara far more than he despised him, after all. Friends needed to trust each other, and he had to be the one to begin their show of trust.

"Alright," he looked up with determination in his eyes, "I'll do it."

ooooo

Gaara frowned and inched further into the room. Jiraiya-san and the kunoichi were obviously trying to keep hidden; he had to find some way to reach them without alerting the Akatsuki members of their location. Plan solidified, he sent his sand into the ground outside the temple, where it slowly beat itself into the ground. As his chakra-drawn sand separated the grass, it drew out the natural sand of the earth, along with mud and rock, doubling and then tripling in volume. This way, although it was harder to control and less agile, it would look like a doton jutsu instead of a sand technique. When he felt that he had enough, he sent all of it in one giant burst into the entrance, and sprinted inside.

Hidden behind his sand and earth, he couldn't see how Deidara and Sasori were reacting, but he could hear their yells and complaints as they swatted away the blankets of sand. Gaara rushed over to where Jiraiya and Yugito Nii were hidden.

"Jiraiya-san," he panted.

"Gaara. Convince this girl that we mean her no harm," the toad sage instructed, his hand still over her mouth, "I didn't have any time to explain before I retrieved her."

The blond woman was on the verge of attacking him with her Jinchuuriki abilities, blue chakra was slowly pouring out of her. When she turned her head – Jiraiya's hand still covering her mouth – to the side to see the white-haired Gaara, she narrowed her eyes.

"Yugito Nii, I am the Jinchuuriki of the Ichibi, and this is Jiraiya of the Sannin" the white haired boy spoke in a voice that was far older than his looks, "we both know of the time seal that Nibi has probably informed you of."

Immediately, she stopped struggling, and Jiraiya let her go. She inched over to Gaara.

"So you know as well? That is good. I have been confused. All I remember is being killed by two Akatsuki members, different ones," she explained, "Matatabi has told me most of what he remembers."

Gaara frowned, and then remembered that six years in the future, Yugito Nii had been dead. She only had the memories of the future up to her death, and no farther. He considered his words carefully.

"These Akatsuki members are here to take your bijuu. We must…leave. Quickly," he told her.

Jiraiya frowned, "why don't we take them out while we're here? Wouldn't it be more convenient? I'm more than up to it, especially since you said Sasori was taken out by Sakura-chan and a little old lady."

"No. Although Deidara can be defeated, he is also very good at sending messages with his flying bird sculptures, and he is a master at escape. The Akatsuki are a widespread organization, and information doesn't travel very fast between their members. If we can defeat Deidara when we know he will not be able to communicate with them, we can buy ourselves time. However, if it gets out that the Jinchuuriki of the Ichibi is in Kumo…" Gaara tried to explain.

The toad sage nodded reluctantly, "alright, Gaara-san. We will escape instead. Yugito-chan, will you come with us?"

"Yes, I will go with the Jinchuuriki boy," she said pointedly, angry at her childish address.

"Hurry," the white-haired boy stumbled to his feet from where he had been crouching between them and turned to run sharply out of the entrance.

"Oi! Sasori no danna, what is this, un?" Deidara yelled out from behind them. They left the temple before they could hear Sasori's reply, Gaara's sand slowly shifting itself out of the mud and rocks an following him discreetly.

Since she knew the terrain better than they did, Yugito took the lead and lead them through the thicker parts of the forest. She never stopped running until they could no longer hear the sound of bombing behind them from where Deidara was evidently trying to locate her with his explosive clay.

Finally, she stopped, and Gaara dropped to the ground in exhaustion. The sand that had followed him – the amount originally in his gourd – was piled up beside him. He lay there panting for a while, feeling the muscles in his young body stress themselves beyond what they should be capable off. Beside him, even Jiraiya was looking a little sweaty.

"We are here," Yugito declared, seemingly not tired at all after having run over five kilometers through a forest. Gaara took the chance to take a good look at the Jinchuuriki of the Nibi. She was exceptionally built for a shinobi; lean and powerful. From what Jiraiya's contacts had said, she trained with the utmost discipline, and refrained from sake and all other pleasures in life. Gaara nodded to himself. She would make the perfect partner for Tsunade-san.

"It's unlikely that we'll be found in this area," she declared, "now get up you two. I thought you were powerful shinobi," she glared at where Gaara had collapsed on the ground, and Jiraiya had dropped to his knees to catch his breath.

"Sorry, Yugito-san," the white-haired boy managed to sputter, "my younger body is unused to such exertion," he finally pushed himself to his feet, "we have much to discuss with you."

"I could tell," she eyed both of them, "Matatabi has been asking me to go looking for the other Jinchuuriki so that he could get back on someone named Uchiha Madara, the person who apparently activated the seal that caused all of this. I was thinking of finding a way to contact B-sama, but I heard he had locked himself up inside his room," the entire time, she stood at full attention, as still as a taijutsu master.

"We have contacted B-san," Gaara explained, "he is currently headed to find the Jinchuuriki of the Rokubi."

"Alright. Tell me about this plan of yours," she crossed her arms. Jiraiya looked towards Gaara, indicating for him to begin.

Gaara quickly outlined their plan of cornering Madara near the end of the reset, noting the calculating glances that Yugito Nii was giving him. After describing the goal, he began with the first aspect of their plan.

"To begin, we have to take out the Akatsuki members. They will pose large problems if they get in our way," he explained.

"Those two didn't seem that difficult. I wouldn't have been able to handle them alone very easily, but they would not have been a match for all three of us," she commented airily.

"There are others who are much stronger," Jiraiya added, "people like Uchiha Itachi, genius of the Uchiha clan, and Hoshigaki Kisame. They will not be nearly as easy."

"I see," she pondered all of their points, "it is a good plan. Matatabi and I will help, since I do not want the world distorted any further by this Madara's actions," she paused, "you said that we were going to fight in pairs. Do you already have someone for me to work with, or will I have to inform another strong shinobi of our situation?"

"We have the ideal partner for you," Gaara told her confidently, "her name is Senju Tsunade of the Sannin."

"I have heard of her," Yugito nodded, a small smile forming on her face, "she is one of the strongest kunoichi from Hi no Kuni. It will be an honor to work with her."

Similar to many other young kunoichi, she grew up hearing tales of legendary shinobi such as Pakura of Suna, and Kushina and Tsunade of Konoha, and Samui of Kumo. Clearly, she was excited to have the opportunity to work with someone she had once idolized.

Jiraiya frowned comically, "Oi, Gaara-san. Maybe this will not be such a good i-"

"We will set out to locate Tsunade-san immediately," Gaara decided, "Jiraiya-san, you know where she is, don't you?"

"Well, she should be too hard to find…"

ooooo

True to his word, Jiraiya had come out of the nearest bar two hours later with a grin on his face, announcing that he knew the small town where Tsunade was currently staying.

The three of them immediately set out to cross the border to Fire Country, with Yugito setting a break-neck pace that Gaara and Jiraiya struggled to keep up with. When night fell and the toad sage and set up a small camp, Gaara drafted a letter to Naruto and sent it via toad summons, explaining who their Konoha ally was to Yugito. The blond woman appeared slightly impressed at how much they had managed to accomplish in such a short time.

It took them two days to reach the borders of Fire Country, and they arrived at the small town where Naruto had originally met her in the late evening. Before entering, Jiraiya and Yugito had a loud shouting match on whether the blond kunoichi should be allowed to wear her kumo hitai-ite. It was finally decided by Gaara, who pleaded with her to wear it somewhere more inconspicuous. She reluctantly tied it around her waist, underneath her shirt. Due to Jiraiya's universally known presence as a travelling shinobi, the town gatekeepers opened the gates easily for him and his two companions without asking too many questions.

Once they were inside, he turned to Yugito and handed her a small bag, "Yugito-chan, go rent rooms in a hotel, one for you and one for Gaara-san and myself. I will find Tsunade-hime and bring her to talk."

"I will come as well," Yugito interjected, "I wish to meet her."

"Not now. You see, she's picked up a few rather bad habits, and they happen in the types of places a girl like you wouldn't like to visit. And Gaara-san is far too young. Just go find us some rooms and I'll be back sometime in the night. Hopefully," he didn't seem so sure of it himself.

"Bring her back, Jiraiya-san," Gaara instructed. The command sounded strange from his young voice.

"I'll try…"

"Don't try, do it. I know you are able to. You and Naruto did it last time, you can do it again," Gaara declared, turning to Yugito, "come, Yugito-san. Jiraiya-san will take care of it."

The toad sage nodded and disappeared into the crowd.

"Well. I suppose that one looks like an inn," Yugito observed, squinting at an establishment nearby. It was rather small, but it had a sign on the outside that said 'vacancies'. She headed for it in her stiff, almost military walk, with Gaara looking completely out of place beside her.

They entered the building, and Yugito dumped the small bag of coins on the innkeeper's table, not bothering to figure out the currency system, "Two rooms," she ordered.

"Does your son really need his own room?" The innkeeper commented dryly, "they're big rooms, you know."

"He is notmy son. He is the child of the man I am travelling with," the kunoichi corrected, apparently not aware of the connotations of her words.

"Whatever you say…" The balding innkeeper raised his eyebrows and placed the bag of coins into his drawer after slowly counting through them, "follow me."

They followed him into a room, and he pointed out the room opposite to it as the second one they had rented. Yugito entered and sat on her knees in the middle, gesturing for Gaara to follow.

"Senju Tsunade of the Sannin," she commented once Gaara had sat down, "what is she like? What are her abilities? I have never worked with someone this famous before."

"I am afraid that she will both exceed your expectations…and destroy them," Gaara replied, taking in the warm, comfortable room, "she has not been well since leaving Konoha. The deaths of several people precious to her have left her indulging in sake and gambling."

Yugito frowned, "but is she still a strong kunoichi?"

"She is incredibly strong," Gaara confirmed, "In the future we remember, she became the Hokage of Konoha. She is very capable, and will make a powerful addition to our side."

"Then I will fix her," the blond kunoichi decided, "there is no one who cannot be fixed with a strong dose of discipline," she had a look of pure determination in her eyes, "now where is that perverted old man?"

A small smile formed on Gaara's face. Tsunade could be trusted to her, she'd beat the Sannin back into shape with her dedication. They stayed like that for another hour, casually discussing what had happened since Yugito's death. The kunoichi seemed to find it unacceptable that she had died fighting only two Akatsuki members, however much Gaara tried to inform her that they were much more powerful when they worked as a team, and vowed to take down as many members as she got her hands in. After thoroughly explaining Naruto's fight against Pein and answering all her questions about the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi, they both quieted upon hearing loud footsteps banging down the corridor.

"Ok I'm here. What do you want?" A very _gifted _woman with her hair in two blond ponytails huffed and entered the room, ignoring its other occupants as she sat down cross-legged on the mat.

"Tsunade-sama!" a dark-haired woman holding what seemed like a pig accompanied her in, giving Yugito a short bow before standing respectfully behind her shishou.

"I'm getting to it…" Jiraiya rubbed his head and closed the door behind him, placing a seal on the entrance. Yugito eyed the woman sitting next to her warily, taking in the loose clothing, the messy hair, the shirt worn open…

"You are Senju Tsunade of the Sannin?" She asked, turning to face the other blond woman, "my name is Yugito Nii. It is an honor to meet you."

Tsunade took one look at the kumo kunoichi and raised her eyebrows at Jiraiya.

"Who is this girl?"

"Well, that's part of what I'm trying to explain…" Jiraiya settled down beside Gaara.

"That was…fast," the boy noted.

"I offered to pay off a few of her debts if she agreed to meet with us for the night," the toad sage explained, shrugging, "you're making a poor man out of me, hime." He neglected to mention that Kakashi had sent him a large amount of the money he had earned by killing Kakuzu, for that exact purpose.

"Good. Now get on with this stupid meeting. There's a bottle of sake at the bar opposite from here that's calling for me," the slug princess grumbled. Beside her, Yugito frowned.

"Ah, right. But first…." Jiraiya turned to Shizune, "it's kind of a private matter. I don't think Shizune-chan should be here for it."

The dark-haired woman gave him a confused look, and then turned to her shishou, "Tsunade-sama if you would like I will wait outside-"

"No. Whatever you have to say, Shizune will hear it," Tsunade decided, placing her elbows on her legs and leaning back, "not get on with it!"

Gaara watched Jiraiya expectantly. The toad sage simply shrugged, conveying that she was someone who could be trusted. The young Kazekage vaguely remembered her as the woman who trailed by Tsunade's side when she became the Godaime. Gaara cleared his throat, and she turned to look at the small white-haired boy for the first time.

"You see, there was something that happened six years ago…"

ooooo

Back in Konoha, night had fallen. Naruto was collapsed on his back in the middle of training ground eight, panting as sweat poured off his forehead. He laid there in the dark for a while, waiting for his breath to catch up with him.

_You learn quickly with all those clones, _Kurama stated from inside his mind, _but it seems that even _you_ can tire. _

Naruto grinned, _only because you're not providing me with much chakra at the moment. Gimme some more, Kurama. I'm dying out here._

The fox sent pulses of an emotion that vaguely resembled amusement, _too much would overload your young body. You don't yet have it mastered, but you should be able to at least hold your own for a while in a fight against someone like Uchiha Itachi. Now that you've let me control your chakra reserves, I won't allow you to use up too much too quickly. With our chakra merged together like this, allowing too much to flow could potentially tire your tenketsu. _

_S'okay, I suppose. I'm getting energized again already. Although I feel like I've just spent an hour sparring with Lee._

It was true to some extent. For the last few hours, the grounds had been filled with clones, all training in bijuu mode. Each of Naruto's clones did not have their own Kyuubi, of course, but this made control much easier. In the beginning, the bijuu mode had been evenly distributed among all one thousand clones, such that each clone had to do very little. Slowly, Kurama had instructed Naruto to dispel a few at a time, until all the chakra that the fox had been pouring into him was concentrated into his main body. He had managed to last almost twenty minutes before his tenketsu had been strained to the point where Kurama had to withdraw all his chakra from Naruto's body.

_But will this be enough to defeat Pein again without letting you out? _He asked his prisoner, curious to know.

_Only if you master it. Defeating Pein's Chibaku Tensai took almost everything out of me. If you want to stand a chance, you need to learn how to fully use my chakra, and preferably how to transform into me without letting your body take the damage. _

_Just like B no o-san! _Naruto mentally exclaimed, _we're going to be awesome together, Kurama!_

_Just until the trigger is destroyed, _the fox grumbled from behind its bars.

_Oh come on, you big old mangy fox. You know we're buddies now-_

His mental conversation was disrupted when he felt a slight presence nearby. Naruto pushed himself up into a sitting position and waved at Kakashi, who was approaching him. The jonin seemed to meld completely into the darkness as he walked, with only his light hair making him visible.

"What have you been doing, Naruto? I walked Sasuke and Sakura-chan back to their houses, but you weren't at the apartment. It's almost eleven, you know. I believe I mentioned something about telling me when you were going to be late," the jonin told him, helping his student to his feet.

"Oh sorry," Naruto rubbed his head sheepishly, "but I've learned something that you're gonna love, Kashi-sensei!"

_Oi kitsune, wake up and send me some chakra! We've got a friend to impress!_

ooooo

"…why do I get myself into these things," Tsunade sighed an hour and thirty minutes later, "I think I deal with enough lunatics in my life already."

"This is serious, Tsunade-hime," Jiraiya relayed, "we need your help."

The blond woman sighed, "so these two," she gestured at Gaara and Yugito, "are Jinchuuriki, and apparently have the same memories of this erased future?"

"Yes. I am the Jinchuuriki of the Nibi," Yugito confirmed, "this boy is the Jinchuuriki of the Ichibi."

Tsunade rubbed her eyes blearily, "how much longer will this meeting last before I can go? You should know that I have no intention of returning to Konoha."

"You will not need to return to Konoha, Tsunade-san," Yugito said, "you will come with me to hunt down the Akatsuki members."

"Tsunade-san, I think that this issue might be serious-" Shizune began.

"I don't believe them. They're trying to lure me back to Konoha somehow, Shizune," the slug princess raised one eyebrow, "and with some crazy story about time travel."

"What would convince you, Tsunade-san?" Gaara asked curiously, "what if we swore that we would never persuade you to return to Konoha? Will that be enough?"

"Will that be enough to convince me that Uchiha Madara, who is supposed to be rotting in his age-old grave, is currently plotting to mess with time itself? Maybe you're all just trying to get my help to hunt the Akatsuki. You know, there are many capable shinobi within Konoha that will fit the job just fine. You don't need my help."

"We cannot inform too many people of this, hime! We've chosen you because you have the maximum strength-to-person ratio of any ally we have not recruited yet!" The toad sage burst out, "this is not about you, or me, or Konoha. It's about the world itself, and the fact that our memories will be effectively erased if we do not succeed in stopping this trigger! Even if you've somehow lost your will of fire…do not lose your will as a shinobi!"

"I agree with Jiraiya-san," Shizune spoke up quietly, "if this is true, it could have large implications. Someone with your strength would increase their chances of success."

Upon hearing the words of her lover's niece, Tsunade paused, deep in though. Finally, she looked up. She reached up to her neck and clutched the Shodai Hokage's necklace.

"If the Kyuubi's Jinchuuriki really did attack Konoha and lose control completely…then you should know what this necklace does. You should know the power behind the cursed charm," she said softly, "if you do…I will try to believe you."

Jiraiya's eyes softened, "that necklace has the power to subdue a tailed beast. It enhanced Shodai-sama's ability to control the Kyuubi. If you hadn't given it to Naruto, we wouldn't have been able to bring him back."

There was a period of silence in which Jiraiya watched her intently while she stayed deep in thought. Shizune stood silently behind her shishou, and Gaara and Yugito did not move. All eyes were on her until her raised her head again.

"Fine. I suppose I could benefit from visiting some foreign gambling houses that didn't already know me by that stupid moniker," she mumbled, "This saving the world business really isn't what I do. If Naruto comes to me to ask me to be his Hokage again, I _will _punch him to the next country. I watched Hashirama-jiji do too much paperwork to even think of going within ten feet of the position."

"I will do my best to guide you, Tsunade-san," Yugito bowed her head, "it is an honor to work with you."

"Yes yes…Jiraiya-baka, what about Shizune? I cannot train her properly if I'm to hunt down missing-nin."

"Do you even actually train her?" Jiraiya pondered. Upon seeing her angry look, he quickly changed the topic, "Shizune-chan can come with us to Konoha. We need all the allies we can get, and since she already knows the truth, we can make use of her."

"Use?" Shizune squeaked, "I'm only lower jonin level at most in combat…and my medical-jutsu still needs some improvement…"

"Shizune is a competent iryounin, and fights well with poison," Tsunade declared, "soon she may just be as good as me."

The dark haired woman smiled brightly at the comment, and turned to Gaara, who seemed to be doing all the planning.

"We will find someone strong to be your combat partner," Gaara declared, "although you'll have to return to Konoha by yourself. I must show myself in Suna again or my father will begin to suspect that I have been kidnapped."

"Is that it, then?" the slug princess asked, "instead of being dragged back to Konoha, I've been dragged into something far more troublesome."

"Yes. Shizune-san, you will return to Konoha and find Hatake Kakashi and Naruto. I will write them a letter to inform them of what has happened, and I will leave to Kakashi-san the decision of which other person to tell, and this person will be your combat partner. Tsunade-san and Yugito-san, you will pursue the Akatsuki members Sasori, once of Suna, and Deidara, once of Iwa. Yugito-san already knows their general location, so they should not be too hard to find," Gaara told them, "Jiraiya and I will head to Suna to allow me to briefly make an appearance, and then we will be hunting down a certain person."

Tsunade stood up slowly and brushed herself off, looking critically at the combat partner assigned to her by the future Kazekage.

"So, you're Yugito Nii? If we're going to be working together for the next few years, I'll have to know more about your fighting style. There's a good bar nearby, we can discuss it over some sake," she stretched briefly and eyed the younger blond kunoichi from head to toe.

Yugito Nii stood up and nodded, "that is best, Tsunade-san. However, we may have to visit a restaurant or sushi bar instead. I do not drink sake."

Senju Tsunade could only stare at her new partner in mute horror.


	9. A Shinobi Must Endure

**Chapter 9 – A Shinobi must Endure**

"It worked!" Naruto yelled, bright and early the next morning. Beside him, Kakashi smiled down at the letter.

_Kakashi-san and Naruto,_

_We have found Tsunade-san. The money you sent to Jiraiya was very helpful in convincing her to meet with us. We have explained everything to her. She is currently paired up with Yugito Nii, and has gone with her to the border of Kaminari no Kuni to locate Deidara and Sasori. Shizune was also told, since Tsunade-san insisted she remain in the room. She is headed for Konoha, and should be there by the time this letter is received. Tsunade-san claims she is a skilled field medic, and may be of use to back up a combat team. I will allow you to decide who to pair her with. _

_Now, we are planning to locate and defeat our next target, the one that you deem essential to kill as soon as possible. We know where is he, but if we decide to do this, we will be fighting him on his own grounds. That will be a great disadvantage, and to deal with it we need reinforcements to distract Orochimaru's allies. Bring with you Shizune-san and whoever you decide to make her combat partner._

_-Gaara_

"Tsunade-san truly loves Konoha. She just needed a little push," the jonin explained, "now destroy that letter. Gai-san will be here in a few minutes."

His student and sliced the letter from Jiraiya to shreds, grinning the entire time. The latest update from Jiraiya had arrived just that morning, bearing the good news. Gaara had sent them after Deidara and Sasori. Naruto questioned the intelligence of that decision, seeing that Gaara would do much better against the Iwa missing-nin because his sand could easily disrupt the explosions, but he decided to follow Gaara's decisions. Naruto had never claimed to be strategic, after all, and he fully admitted that the future Kazekage had a keen eye for planning.

He grinned at the thought that they had already taken down four Akatsuki members. The Zombi Combi was dead, and with Tsunade baa-chan hunting them down, Deidara and Sasori wouldn't last. If she went all out, she could probably take them both down by herself, Akatsuki teamwork and all. After Pein's fight when Tsunade had been left in her deep coma, Naruto had spent time wishing that she had helped him fight instead. Maybe then, the Kyuubi wouldn't have taken over, and Nagato would have brought everyone's life back in the end anyway. However, he knew the slug princess well, and given the information she had, using her generous chakra reserves for widespread medical attention was probably the best decision she could make as Hokage.

He then thought about their next project.

_Orochimaru. _

After a heated debate in which Kurama had convinced him that wasting his time in the chunin exams was unadvised, and Naruto had argued that he didn't want to take any chances with Sasuke, they had finally come to a decision. Orochimaru would be dealt with in the same way as the Akatsuki members; they would hunt him down and defeat him, thereby removing another thorn in their side. At this, Jiraiya had expressed several doubts.

The Sannin were known for being some of the most powerful shinobi of their generation. They were mostly of equal strength, which meant that any two could defeat the third. However, fighting Orochimaru in his own grounds was very different. He had spent years training 'weapons' there, such as the Sound Four and his potential body, Kimimaro. Before they had a chance of getting to him, they would have to face many of these weapons, and it would be tiring and difficult. Facing Orochimaru while worn down was completely unadvised. Gaara had originally objected, claiming that such a full-scale plan of destruction would take up too much energy.

One look into Naruto's eyes had convinced him otherwise. He knew very well exactly how much the boy valued his friend, and he wasn't about to give Orochimaru another chance to take that friendship away. He had reluctantly agreed, and put himself and Jiraiya forth to take the task.

"Well, we have another d-rank today," Kakashi commented cheerfully, "I think we're cleaning out a farmer's stable. Don't wear anything you don't want to see covered in manure."

Naruto nodded, still wrapped up in the good news. They could always ponder Orochimaru later on, there were still six days before Gaara was available. He needed to head back to Suna and make an appearance, if only to convince everyone that he had not been kidnapped. Once he was back in Hi no Kuni, they could begin their infiltration planning.

The door burst open at that moment. After being though the same event every morning since he became a genin, Naruto no longer flinched at Gai-sensei's 'dynamic entry'.

"Good morning, Gai-sensei!" He shouted, happily opening the refrigerator and taking out the milk that Kakashi – the lazy bastard – had _finally _bought. He tore open the top and gulped it down directly from the carton, earning a disapproving look from his sensei.

"Good morning, champion of youth!" Gai nodded towards him. Over the days, he had grown fond of the small blond boy who lived with his friend, "Oi Kakashi, there's someone here to see you!"

"Hmm?" Kakashi peered out from behind a cupboard, "who is it."

"This young lady was at the entrance to the apartment compound, asking where you lived," Gai explained, "I decided to do my eternal rival a favor in bringing her here. Our score is now sixty-two to sixty-one since the last reset!"

He moved aside to reveal the young woman standing behind him. She was wearing a short, black kimono with a netted shirt inside and a wide obi…and she was holding a pig.

"Shizune-san!' Naruto exclaimed, rushing to the door to greet her.

"Buhi!" Tonton greeted back, somehow sensing his enthusiasm.

"You know this person, Naruto-kun?" Gai asked.

"Yeah! She's a really awesome iryounin!" The blond genin declared.

Shizune flushed a little at the compliment, a small smiled pulling her lips as Naruto's enthusiasm for life in general rubbed off on her. From Jiraiya and Gaara's explanation, she realized that the boy probably knew much more about her than she knew about him, due to his experiences in the future.

"Hello…again…Naruto-kun," she greeted, "Kakashi-san," she looked behind him at the jonin who was approaching the doorway. Her Shishou's teammate's student's student was much older, especially since she had last seen him in anbu outfit while she was a little girl.

"Shizune-san. Jiraiya mentioned you in the letter," he told her.

The dark haired girl nodded, "yes. Gaara-san sent me to you. He says you will find me a combat partner."

"Combat? Did you say combat?" Gai caught onto the word immediately.

"No no no," Kakashi cleared, "no she didn't," he desperately wished that Gai would leave. Shizune hadn't revealed anything serious so far, but if she went on with him in the room…maybe she didn't yet know that he hadn't been _told._

"I did say that, except-"

"If it is combat you desire, then you have come to the right place. I would be honored to spar with such a fountain of youth such as yourself," Gai declared, looking rather smitten with the dark haired medic as he gave her a thumbs up.

"N-no thank you," Shizune squeaked, "I don't break people, I fix them."

Naruto thought about her situation. They weren't at the point where they could afford to _not _utilize anyone who _knew._ Shizune was not a very capable fighter, but she had trained in medical-ninjutsu under _the _Senju Tsunade for over ten years, making her an extremely capable field medic. Along with her sharp eye and skill with poisons, she would be relatively useful if they found the correct use for her.

It would be best to place her on a team with a taijutsu user, since they were the ones who were injured most often. Of course, their best taijutsu user was Tsunade, and she was a medic herself. B and Utakata would probably be fine since their ridiculous amounts of chakra gave them exceptional healing abilities, and they had no way of communicating until they came back from their mission of hunting down Kisame. The only people that seemed to take a lot of hits were Kakashi and Jiraiya. However, there were too many covert missions that they couldn't take a medic on, even one who could defend herself decently. It was best to _tell _someone else, and have that person and Shizune as their backup team as Gaara had advised.

Slowly, an idea formed in his mind. He turned to look at Kakashi. With the way the jonin was looking at him, the same thought had probably occurred to him as well.

"Shizune-san, Gai-san, please come in," Kakashi waved them in through the door, closing it firmly behind him and placing one of Jiraiya's seals over the entrance.

Seeing the seal, Gai went on full alert, correctly assuming that there was something important to be discussed. His eyes slowly narrowed, and shot a concerned look at both Kakashi and Naruto, going into what Kakashi called his 'serious mode'. He followed Shizune to the couch, where they both sat down while Kakashi and Naruto seated themselves on the table in front of it.

"Gai-san," Kakashi began, "if I asked you to keep a secret, would you do it?"

"I already keep many of your secrets," the other jonin said carefully, "I think I can handle another."

"Even if you must keep it from the Hokage?"

At this, Gai frowned, a small wrinkle appeared at his temples. However, he took one look at the seriousness in Kakashi's eyes and nodded.

"As long as it does not involve anything that could harm Konoha."

"Great," Naruto decided, "then you can help us."

"Eh?" Shizune raised her eyebrows, "it's going to be _him_?" She caught onto the idea immediately, and looked horrified at the idea of filling the 'lead' position Tsunade had previously occupied with the strange person in green tights sitting next to her.

"What's going to be me?" Gai asked, still in his serious mode.

Naruto briefly entertained the idea of telling him everything, but then decided against it. Every extra person they told was another ripple in the strings, another break in traditional time. It would be best to only tell him only what he needed to know. He gave Kakashi a sideways glance.

"We're asking you to help us neutralize a potential invasion of Konoha," Kakashi explained, "but you must be willing to fight without informing the village. The less people know, the better."

Gai frowned, "there is a threat of invasion to Konoha?"

"Yeah. A threat by Orochimaru of the Sannin," Naruto added.

"Orochimaru! The traitor," Gai understood, "he's planning to attack Konoha? Then the Hokage must know!" His eyebrows disappeared under the bangs of his bowl cut.

"No!" Kakashi snapped, "there are other things that we cannot tell you. We must deal with this ourselves, and not get Sandaime-sama involved. Will you help us?"

"To protect Konoha, I will use the full power of my youth," Gai nodded, "what is this mission of yours, and how can I help?"

Shizune tried to open her mouth to protest that the 'power of youth' of someone nearing their mid-thirties probably wouldn't be all that great, but decided against it, choosing to instead squeeze Tonton a little tighter.

"In a week, Jiraiya-san and a…friend…will try to infiltrate Orochimaru's current hideout. If it was just the snake, they could probably deal with him, but he also has various…experiments. I'm sure you've heard of what he does," Kakashi watched Gai's shiver. They had been told horror stories about Orochimaru's test subjects when they were children, "We must defeat the weapons he sends our way before we reach him. Jiraiya-san and Gaara need backup," he finished, "and I was thinking that you and Shizune could provide it."

Shizune gulped, "I...can try my best to keep everyone in their best shape. And if I need to, I'll help fight with my poisons."

Gai considered the proposition, "it seems wise that Jiraiya-san and his friend take back up with them. However…why is Naruto here for this conversation?" He looked curiously at the blond genin, who was still seated on the table, "surely you won't make him fight. He may be extremely youthful, but he is only a genin."

"Um…Ero-sennin is my shishou. So I…er…heard about it. I'm not actually going to be fighting," Naruto informed him, "I'm just going to cheer Ero-sennin on safely. From Kashi-sensei's apartment." Allowing Gai to know that he would be included in the mission would reveal too much. Naruto planned to go with Kakashi once he had split off from Gai and Shizune, leaving a shadow clone in Konoha.

"That is good," Gai crossed his arms over his chest, "I am honored that you have come to me for help with your youthful goal, Kakashi, and I accept. I will work with you and this youthful girl to provide backup for Jiraiya-san as he bravely confronts his old teammate!"

Beside him, Shizune inched away from the green tights and groaned, wishing desperately that her shishou would come rescue her from her horrible luck.

ooooo

"Is there a reason we're carefully avoiding every habitable place on the way to Kaminari no Kuni?" Senju Tsunade asked the stoic woman walking beside her, "or do you just like sleeping on rocky, muddy ground and not bathing for days?"

"It is best for stealth, Tsunade-sama," Yugito replied curtly. The truth was, ever since she had seen Tsunade completely lose her common sense in a gambling house, she had been reluctant to go near another. Or any place that sold sake, really, "I know of a small river at the border ahead. If you would just allow us to go the slightest bit faster, we could bathe there and clean ourselves before tomorrow," she offered, looking up into the late evening sun.

"Listen, little girl, I am tired, and sake-depraved, and slowly losing my mind with this time seal business. There is no way I'm going to stress myself out even more by travelling at your ridiculous speed. And bathing in a river? Things weren't even that bad during the third shinobi war! There are tons of small towns on the way, and that boy Gaara has given us more than enough money to live somewhat decently! There's no need to strip in the middle of a forest in the middle of the night where hunters can find us!" The blond woman yelled, agitated. She pushed one sweaty blond ponytail off her shoulder and looked frustrated at Yugito's neat braid.

"There are no hunters in these forests, Tsunade-sama. The only people who would risk to travel in these areas are low level missing-nin, and we can easily hide ourselves from them," The younger woman replied, "you should keep in mind, Tsunade-sama, that being a shinobi requires discipline," she paused, and then stopped walking, surveying the area, "since you do not wish to make it to the border before tomorrow, we should set up camp here."

"Good. My feet are getting blisters," Tsunade sat down right in the middle of the clearing and watched as her discipline-nut of a combat partner began to carefully look around for any dangers, glancing disapprovingly at the slug princess's heeled shoes as well. The first night they had spent in the forest, Tsunade had been paranoid enough to send out sensors for any human presence, but seeing Yugito's surprisingly thorough examination had caused her to trust the younger woman.

After a few minutes, Yugito joined her on the ground and removed her pack, slipping the zipper open. Out of it, she drew a large piece of cloth; a tent. She carried only the cloth and some rope, but never carried any tent poles, claiming that they were heavy and slowed her down.

"I will go find branches," she reported, standing up sharply and disappearing into the forest. Tsunade waited patiently, still sitting cross-legged. She was slowly beginning to miss Shizune and Tonton. This woman she had been asked to work with was insufferable. She didn't drink sake, she didn't go within ten feet of gambling houses, she seemed to be able to sprint kilometers on end without tire, and she felt perfectly at home among all the rather scary creatures of the wild forest. How on earth was she supposed to work with someone like this? For the entire two days they had travelled together, Yugito had probably spoken a grand total of a hundred words, and only when Tsunade had begun the speaking. All the jumping across tree branches was starting to make her chest hurt. At least Yugito had no problems at all in that area.

When the young kunoichi returned with long branches slung over her shoulder, she propped them up against the ground and began to tie them together with rope, forming the rough skeleton of a tent. She then took the tent cloth and swung it over, completing the small shelter. Her movements were almost economized, swift and neat. She worked as cleanly as the cat that was sealed inside of her.

"You know, if we're going to work together, I'll have to know who you are," Tsunade commented as the tent was finished.

"You know who I am, Tsunade-sama. My name is Yugito Nii and I am the Jinchuuriki of the Nibi."

"I know that! I mean, where are you from? What are your abilities?" She huffed, following Yugito into the tent.

"Ah, you want to know of my abilities," Yugito deduced, "I apologize for not telling you sooner. After all, we will be fighting soon and it will be best for you to know. Jiraiya-san and Gaara have been telling me about your strengths while I travelled with them, so I assumed you would already know of mine."

She opened her pack again and drew out two ration bars, handing one to Tsunade, "I suppose I will begin with my bijuu. The decision to make me a Jinchuuriki was decided before I was born. My parents both had exceptional amounts of chakra, and it was assumed that any child of theirs would be a candidate to test for compatibility with Matatabi, since the previous Jinchuuriki was being rejected. It was sealed in me when I was two, and Matatabi decided that I was compatible with him. I trained with him for a long time, and eventually became jonin at the age of fifteen, when I had full control of his chakra. At that point, I trained for a few years with B-sama, who is the most powerful Jinchuuriki of our country. I managed to impress him with my control, and I was assigned to be one of the guardians of our daimyo. I remained in that position until the age of twenty-one, when I retreated to my home village in order to train by myself and become stronger. I remained in my sabbatical for a year until Jiraiya-san and Gaara found me," she finished, pausing to take a bite of the ration bar before continuing.

"I am decent in taijutsu. I can make my nails grow and become as hard as metal, which is useful when fighting against swords. I am mainly a mid-range fighter, where I use my fire affinity to create fire strikes and explosions. I can also use Matatabi's raw chakra, and when transformed I can use the Tailed Beast Bomb," she reported, quickly finishing more of her ration bar.

Tsunade watched the younger woman carefully. She sounded like a very capable fighter, a good ally in a combat situation. She also had a good head on her shoulders, and seemed to be able to think clearly.

"Sounds good. You're a capable kunoichi," the slug princess commented, sighing.

Yugito radiated a little under the praise. Despite her idol's…unhealthy indulgences, it was still evident that Tsunade-sama was one of the most powerful shinobi of her generation. The woman seemed to simply emanate chakra. Her large reserves were probably due to her lineage; she was descended from the Shodai Hokage after all. Over the past few days she had seen the way the older woman had come to trust her instincts, and was strangely touched. However, sometimes there was a distant look in her partner's eyes, "is there something you are worried about, Tsunade-sama?"

"Well, I'm a little worried for my student, Shizune-chan," the older kunoichi shrugged, "she's never been so far away from me since her uncle's death. She's a dedicated student, but she can be a little timid at times. I hope they don't send her directly into battle. She's still young…"

"Do not worry, Tsunade-sama. Gaara mentioned that she would be their backup field medic," Yugito reassured.

"The job of a field medic is dangerous. When healing a teammate, you are completely vulnerable, and have to rely completely on your other teammates to keep you safe from harm…"

"Jiraiya-san and Gaara would not allow her to get hurt. They will protect your student, Tsunade-sama," Yugito tried to point out.

Tsunade sighed. Despite his stupidity, she had complete faith that her old teammate would protect Shizune, but she couldn't help but worry. That girl had become almost like a younger sister…she would think of her as a daughter, but that would make her too old. Yugito would not be nearly as effective in dragging her out of gambling houses and bars like Shizune had dutifully done.

"Can't we stop at the next town? I know you're trying to be prim and proper, but I'm going through sake-withdrawal here," Tsunade drawled.

"Not yet. We can stay in an inn once we get past the border into Kaminari no Kuni," Yugito stressed. There were no gambling houses out in the open in Kaminari no Kuni; most of them were the sort of underground places that Tsunade would never find. The villagers lead disciplined lives and such things were frowned upon. The stronger sake-bars were only visited by the more unsavory section of the population; the best you would find at most restaurants was heavily watered-down sake. And most places would water it down extra-light for a lady such as Tsunade-sama.

"Oh fine…" Tsunade complained, finishing the last of her ration bar, "I might even be up to travelling a little faster tomorrow. I really need that bath, and a good meal would be excellent. These ration bars taste like year-old meat."

"Discipline means enduring, Tsunade-sama. The fate of a shinobi is to endure," Yugito said, a small vein pulsing in her forehead.

"I've endured enough to know that!" Tsunade replied quickly, "and if you want to endure some more, just let my fist know!"

"Tsunade-sama, I should warn you that if you attempt to find another gambling house in any of the towns we visit in Kaminari no Kuni, Matatabi and I will _handle _you," Yugito said carefully.

"You're twenty years too young to be making threats like that, girl!" Tsunade yelled back.

"We'll see soon enough, Tsunade-sama!" Yugito finally lose her quiet tone.

After ten more minutes of bickering, after which Tsunade was glad to have drawn more speech out of the stoic woman than she had volunteered herself in days, both kunoichi had settled down to sleep in the tent. All the blankets, of course, eventually ended up completely rolled around the slug princess.

Yugito sighed and smiled a little, covering herself in her flak jacket as the sleeping princess managed to sprawl out, covering more of the surface area of the ground. She could make this work.

ooooo

Three days later, two lone figures were slowly making their way across the deserts outside of Sunagakure. It was almost mid-day, and the heat would have been unbearable, if not for the cocoon of sand that protected them from the suns rays and moved along with them.

Gaara was perfectly at home. He had spent a large part of his life in these deserts. No one had ever objected; they had assumed that Shukaku was in danger of coming out, and that the young boy had gone to deal with it himself in the sand dunes away from the village. However, beside him Jiraiya was soaked in his own sweat. Unfortunately, the man was also quite loud when he wanted to be.

"Two days! It's been two days since I saw a single member of the female gender! Can you believe that, Gaara-san? Why aren't there any girls in Kaze no Kuni?!"

"We have passed many travelling stations that included kunoichi, Jiraiya-san. It is had to tell gender because while out of the village, we wear cloaks to protect our faces and bodies from the sand," Gaara explained for what seemed like the third time, "you will have to wait before you can continue your _research, _because you will not be coming inside Sunagakure. It is too risky."

"What? You won't even let me come in to have a bath? I'm sweating from places I didn't even know had sweat glands!"

"A shinobi must endure, Jiraiya-san. I will simply go in, say a few words to my siblings, and come back out. They are obliged to report all of our interaction to our father, the Kazekage," Gaara replied, "you must remain out here."

"Fine," the toad sage muttered, "as you command, _Kazekage-sama._"

Gaara smiled briefly at his partner's humor, and left to enter the gates of Sunagakure alone after making sure Jiraiya was sufficiently hidden. The guards took one look at him and yelled for the gates to be opened. They were used to his frequent leaving, especially since he didn't really sleep, and due to Shukaku's chakra he could go a long time without eating.

He entered the city of his birth for the first time in a month, and walked down the sandy streets, noting all the people who quickly entered the nearest building when he passed. He was well known as Suna's demon; and he had accepted the title with grace, fulfilling the role with his Mother's wishes. He frowned when he remembered his bad habit of killing children who he saw playing with their friends. They had good reason to be afraid of him.

He reached the Kazekage's tower, where his father and siblings lived. It was at the centre of the village, and the tallest structure in sight. The top was covered in a layer of gold dust, a sign of his father's touch. Ignoring the tower guards who shifted over slightly as he passed, he walked into the main hall and looked around for his siblings.

Around him, the desk-workers and paper-pushers were busily running around, caught up in their work. Each of them bowed briefly when they saw him, but it was not a bow of respect. He quickly made way to the stairs, allowing his sand to carry him up to the second floor where his unoccupied room was located. Beside it was Temari's room, and on the other side was Kankuro's. he went immediately to his sister's door, and opened it without bothering to knock.

Inside, Temari was sitting on her bed, perusing though a scroll. When she saw him, she stood up immediately.

"Gaara. You're back," she acknowledged, standing stiffly. He had tried his best to never show too much hatred towards his siblings – mainly because he knew his father would be angry with him – but he vaguely remembered times where he had used Temari and Kankuro as punching bags for the watered-down versions of his sand techniques. His siblings, not allowed to fight back, had simply congratulated him on his new techniques and left to visit the infirmary. It was a miracle she ever forgave him.

"Temari," he rasped, copying the way he had once spoken under Shukaku's influence, "I'm going again. I'm going out to the sand."

"Alright. But remember, the chunin exams are coming up in a few months. Please return before then," she chose her words carefully. He liked that she never stuttered before him. Unlike the villagers, his sister was brave.

Gaara considered telling her that he wasn't interested in participating in the chunin exams, but realized that it might be taken as a sign that he didn't want to come back. Instead, he nodded stiffly and turned, not bothering to close the door behind him. He turned back and left as quickly as he had come in. It would not do for his father to see him right now, or he may be questioned for why he had been away for so long. Out of sight really did mean out of mind.

Reaching the sand dune that Jiraiya had hid behind, he found that the toad sage had summoned one of his smaller toads and was currently…embracing it?

"Gamatatsu-chan…I'm so sorry I ever called you useless…your slime is so wonderfully cold…" He rubbed up against the poor, struggling toad.

"Jiraiya-san! Let go of me, I can't breath…Oi Gamakitchi nii-san, help me!" The poor yellow toad was trying to struggle free. Gaara realized that when he had left, he had taken their sand shade with him, leaving the toad sage to bear the full heat of the sun.

"I'll give you lots of lots of snacks…"

"I'm not supposed to take snacks from molesters!" The toad struggled some more, but Jiraiya's grip on it was like iron.

"Jiraiya-san," Gaara greeted, clearly amused. He allowed his sand shade to fall over the older man, "there is no need to torture your poor summons. I apologize for leaving you in the sun."

The toad sage looked relieved at the shade falling over him and let go of his grip on Gamatatsu, "sorry Gamatatsu-chan. I was a little desperate."

"Let me go back," the toad spluttered.

"Yes, yes," Jiraiya released the summons and watched as the toad disappeared in a cloud of smoke, "I thought of calling Bunta and sitting inside his mouth, but he would defiantly be seen."

"Then it was wise that you did not," Gaara answered, "I have made my appearance. We must now make our way back to the clearing near Konoha where we can meet with Naruto and Kakashi-san. Hopefully, they have found someone to tell.

"I'll finally see some real girls!" Jiraiya exclaimed, thoughts of research swirling around his mind, "You know what would have been convenient? If Kakashi-kun had made your henge a girl…"

Gaara unconsciously took another step away.

ooooo

"Come on, Saku-chan. Just ten more," Kakashi's calm voice gently encouraged.

Sakura looked down at the empty expanse of space beneath her feet and gulped audibly, telling her arm muscles to suck it up _or else. _She slowly pulled herself up until her chin was on top of the branch once more, and then allowed herself to swing back down to hang by her hands. The branch was the only thing nearby that was available to hang onto, seeing as it was positioned to overlook the Hokage Monument.

"Sensei, I'll fall!"

"No you won't. Just nine more, how hard could that be?" the jonin flipped another page in his book from where he was reading nearby, with his back against the tree whose branch Sakura was performing chin-ups on.

"Very hard!"

"You can do it, Sakura-chan!" Naruto yelled his encouragement, "even Sasuke's cheering for you!"

They both turned to look at the dark haired boy who was stoically looking over the view of the village.

"He's cheering on the inside," Naruto clarified.

Sakura took a deep breath and managed to do two more in quick succession.

"What if she actually falls?" Sasuke asked quietly, "I'm just asking out of curiosity."

"I'll get her," Kakashi responded, "She can only fall so fast, and I'm faster. The point is to make her try her best. And nothing makes you try your best like the threat of a painful death."

"That's brutal…" Naruto muttered, watching his pink-haired teammate struggle to complete her set of a hundred chin-ups. In the state his body was in at the moment, he doubted that even he would be able to perform half of what she'd done.

"Well, I actually didn't really expect her to get this far. I just gave her a large sounding number to see how many she could do," Kakashi replied, "I guess next time I'll have to make it five hundred instead."

"No one can do that many, sensei. Not even Gai-sensei." Naruto deadpanned.

"You'd be surprised…"

"D-done," Sakura managed to squeak out, letting herself hang by her arms, "but I can't get back. If I let go now I'll f-fall," she looked at the length of the branch that separated her chip-up position from the trunk of the tree.

Kakashi put away his book and walked over to the edge of the top of the monument, catching hold of Sakura's arm. He quickly pulled her as her other arm let go, and she was soon standing wearily on solid ground.

"My body is going to die tomorrow," she panted out, crawling to where Naruto was seated, "two laps around Konoha, sparring for an hour, and that ridiculous amount of chin-ups? Just put me under for the next week so I don't have to feel those results…"

"Ch," Sasuke retorted, "a shinobi must always endure." Cool as ever.

"You did well," Kakashi commented, "but what you did today is going be your new training schedule."

Sakura stared at him, her eyes slowly widening in horror.

"You're going to do it every two days," the jonin continued, "and on your rest day, don't perform any training at all. Sometimes I'll get you to spar with Sasuke or Naruto instead, so some days won't be this hard."

"Yes…sensei," Sakura sighed from where she was spread flat on the ground and raised a hand to push sweaty hair off her forehead. At that moment, she was probably the farthest way from pretty she could get, but to Naruto she was only beginning to look beautiful.

"Well, we've completed our d-rank and training for the day, so you're all dismissed. Sasuke, you're up next. I have a jutsu I think you'll warm up to later, so start practicing using your Sharingan," Kakashi waved and turned to leave, book in hand.

Naruto followed him back to the apartment. It had been almost seven days since their last letter from Gaara and Jiraiya, which meant that they would be back near Konoha any moment. Everything had been timed perfectly; the trip would begin this evening, which was the start of a b-rank that Kakashi had picked up earlier, requesting to have Gai as his team. The actual b-rank – guarding a merchant's boy from some of his father's debt-collectors – would be done by Naruto's clones disguised to look like Kakashi and Gai, and would probably only take a single day. On the way back, the two jonin could claim that they had been ambushed by some hunters and had decided to take care of them. A third clone would stay in Konoha, while the real Naruto would be discreetly tailing Kakashi, waiting for him to leave Gai and Shizune's team before joining him.

In the past few days, Naruto had been desperately trying to bring his body back into shape, and the results were showing. The slight bit of squishiness in his thighs had turned into hard muscle, and his was almost as toned as he remembered being. He still had some way to go, but he was pleased with the results, and Kurama was noticing the changes as well. A shinobi's body was just as important as their chakra; having a healthy body allowed chakra to flow more easily through the tenketsu.

As they entered the apartment, Pakkun was waiting for them on top of the table. Kakashi had sent him to find Jiraiya and report back when the toad sage was near Konoha.

"Pakkun," Kakashi greeted.

"The old man sends his regards," the small dog nodded, "he and the kid are staying at thatplace. The rest stop."

"Good. Go find Shizune-san and ask her to come here. I'll go get Gai-san," Kakashi instructed. Naruto went over to the refrigerator and took out the carton of milk while the jonin and his dog exited the apartment. He gulped it down and left the empty carton on the counter. At first, it had been slightly annoying that the white-haired jonin had never kept anything stocked in his fridge, and only went out to dutifully buy milk every Sunday because of his new tenant, but now Naruto understood that he really had no need to stock his kitchen. He was only in his apartment during the nights, and left early in the morning. Before Naruto had come to live with him, he had usually only come back late in the night. So Naruto made do with the milk and helped himself to Kakashi's bounty money to eat out. After all, at least half of it was his.

In a few minutes, Kakashi, Gai, Shizune, and Tonton entered the room.

"Yosh! I am ready for battle!" Gai exclaimed, "let us begin our youthful mission!"

"Um…are Jiraiya-sama and Gaara back so quickly?" Shizune asked softly.

"Buhi?" Tonton seemed to ask from her arms. Somehow, the pig seemed to recognize some names.

"Yes, they're back. They're waiting for us just outside the village, we're going out to meet with them," he turned to Naruto, "Naruto, you know what to do. Tell Sakura and Sasuke that we're on a mission and won't be back for a few days. Send your clones out in exactly one hour. By that time, we will have snuck out already."

"Got it," Naruto nodded.

"Clones?" Gai asked. They hadn't told him about the b-rank mission yet.

"Oh, I've just created a small reason for why we'll be out of the village for so long," Kakashi said offhandedly, hoping Gai wouldn't probe any deeper. He turned to Shizune.

"Shizune-san, do you have all your medical equipment with you?"

"Yes," the medic nodded, "and I have extra soldier pills as well."

"Gai, are you prepared to fight? Any injuries we should know of?"

"No! I am in the prime of my youth!"

"Then we'd better start," he shot a discreet look at Naruto, indicating for him to continue with the plan of waiting a while before following after them, and then swung his pack onto his shoulders, leading them out of the apartment.

"Exactly who are these 'weapons' of Orochimaru that you mentioned, Kakashi-san?" Shizune asked quietly as they made their way through the streets of Konoha, "Tsunade-sama has told me much about her old teammate, but I know little about any of his allies."

"Orochimaru experimented on many children," Kakashi explained, "sometimes he would have them all fight each other, and then gift the last one to survive with the power of his curse seal," he told her what he had heard from Anko.

"That is most unyouthful," Gai stated seriously, "he sounds like a true monster."

"He is…twisted," Kakashi agreed.

They walked the rest of the way in silence, leaving through one of the anbu exits at the edge of the village. Once they were outside, Kakashi turned back to see that Gai was fully prepared. The swift way he walked indicated that he had removed his weights for the occasion, making himself perfectly prepared to fight at any second. Shizune was looking around nervously, wondering what she had gotten herself into. Hopefully the poor girl wouldn't have to fight. As long as they weren't overwhelmed, Gai would protect her. Kakashi had considered leaving her to stay in the village, but it was true that she was formidable as a medic-nin. They couldn't afford to not use such talent.

Around halfway though, he felt Naruto's presence a few hundred meters behind. Luckily, neither Gai or Shizune were sensory types, so neither of them were alerted to the boy's presence. He lead them to the small rest stop that Gaara had first been brought to, tapping on a tree outside until Jiraiya came out and deactivated the seals.

"Hmm… I think I know you…" the toad sage stared curiously at Gai as he lead them into the small building, "you look vaguely familiar."

"I am Maito Gai, Konoha's Sublime Green Beast!" Gai exclaimed, although he thankfully kept his voice down.

"He was on a team with Genma and Ebisu," Kakashi explained, "I've chosen him to accompany our medic."

"Ah. Thank you for helping us, Gai-san," Jiraiya indicated for them to sit down inside. Gaara was seated in one corner, eyeing Gai curiously. There were a few seconds of silence before he spoke.

"An interesting choice, Kakashi-san," he noted, "If you have trust in his abilities, then I do as well."

"Who are you?" Gai asked upon seeing Gaara, "is it wise to have such a young shinobi on this dangerous mission?"

"He is not actually that young," Kakashi explained, "he's under a powerful henge to appear as Jiraiya's son. Since he has large reserves of chakra, he can afford to keep up the henge for a long time. I'm afraid I can't tell you exactly who he is, but his name is Gaara."

"Then it is a pleasure to work with you, Gaara-san," Gai nodded at the white-haired boy.

"I will explain the mission," Gaara began once everyone was seated. Naruto was still waiting outside, to be briefed later on by Kakashi.

"Our main opponent is Orochimaru of the Sannin. Jiraiya-san and I will be the ones to engage him. Jiraiya-san will fight, and I will defend him with my sand. If it was only him, the mission would be very straightforward," he narrowed his eyes, "however, I have been informed that there are various other powerful shinobi that he has under his control, and we will need to get past them first before we begin. Therefore, we will need you all to create a diversion in order for us to locate and take down Orochimaru," he took a stick and began to scratch marks into the dirt ground of the small wooden building.

"This is the general shape of Orochimaru's hideout. There are four possible entrances, and a five-corner seal guards the entire area. Jiraiya will disable this seal, and we will infiltrate covertly while all of you provide distractions in two other entrances. Kakashi and his partner will enter here," Gaara pointed to the roughly scratched out 'main' entrance, "and will pretend to be there for the purpose of capturing Orochimaru and bringing him back to Konoha for interrogation. They will pretend to be covert, and also pretend to fail in doing so and let themselves be discovered. Gai and Shizune will enter covertly through here," he pointed to one of the side entrances above one of the papers that indicated the five-corner seal, "and will make their way though the hideout towards Kakashi, prepared to provide backup and to intercept any possible distress signals. My contacts say that this route also leads through Orochimaru's testing area, which is sometimes habited by a man named Yakushi Kabuto, officially a genin of Konoha."

At this, Gai narrowed his eyebrows, "a genin of Konoha is working for Orochimaru?"

"Yes. Yakushi Kabuto is a spy. He spends his weekdays training as a Konoha medic, and his free days in Orochimaru's hideout, doing research in the more…unsavory aspects of medical jutsu," Gaara confirmed, "if you find him there, either kill him or bring him back for questioning. Do whichever seems easier."

Gai nodded seriously and then turned to the white-haired jonin beside him.

"Kakashi, will you be alright? Going through the main entrance like that and facing all those experiments…I have faith in you, my rival, but there are always…"

"I won't be alone, Gai. I will have a partner who will be meeting me on the way. I cannot tell you who he is, but he is a strong and capable shinobi," Kakashi reassured him, "One can't help but feel safe in his presence. Are you confident that you can do your part in Gaara's plan?"

"Very," Gai nodded sharply.

"Shizune-san?"

The dark haired medic clutched Tonton tighter against her chest and nodded, a new look of determination on her face, "I will do my best." She had never been on an infiltration mission before, and this was not the best for a first. However, as a shinobi, she had to endure. If Jiraiya's student's student had a large amount of faith in this strange man who would be accompanying her, she could trust him.

"Good. The hideout is a few hours travel from here, and we will attack in the early morning. Jiraiya will disable the five corner seal at exactly four in the morning tomorrow. Travel quickly towards your locations and sleep through the night. We need everyone at their full strength tomorrow," Gaara finalized, "move out."

Immediately, all five of them stood up and made their way out. Shizune followed Gai as he began travelling south-west at a breakneck speed, and Jiraiya and Gaara left to go south-east, roughly where the other entrance of the hideout was. Kakashi made his way out of the building more slowly, and waited until Naruto revealed himself from where he was hiding in a tree nearby.

"Naruto, they've left to begin the mission," Kakashi stated, "I know I've asked you this many times, but why now? How come this mission is so much more important than sending Gaara and Jiraiya to find the other Akatsuki members? You seem…especially interested in this to dedicate so much of our forces towards it. Why not wait until the chunin exams and allow the Hokage and his forces to defeat him with advanced notice?"

Naruto sighed, "Kakashi-sensei…there's something I haven't told you yet. About the future."

The jonin was immediately on full alert, "well speak up."

"Orochimaru is after Sasuke's Sharingan," he stated, "he uses a technique that allows him to take over someone's body in order to live longer, and he plans to make Sasuke his new body."

"Why didn't you tell me that before? I'm willing to protect him with my life, and with you there as well, there's no way Orochimaru could easily take him again," Kakashi frowned.

"Well…he didn't exactly kidnap Sasuke. He put his mark on him, and Sasuke left on his own," he explained, noting Kakashi's slightly widened eyes, "he went to study ninjutsu under Orochimaru because the snake promised to make him good enough to fight his brother. Soon, Sasuke became a missing-nin of Konoha, and he grew incredibly powerful by using Orochimaru's jutsu. He was one of the greatest threats to Konoha. You have no idea how happy I am that Sasuke has opened up to us like this. I don't want to even take the chance of it happening again," he finished.

After a small pause, Kakashi spoke up, "why didn't you tell me before?"

"Because I didn't want you to treat him differently. Sasuke hasn't done anything yet, he's still innocent. If you had known from the beginning, you might have treated him like the traitor he once became."

"Ah," the jonin sighed, "Mou…you really are protective of him. I suppose it's fine. I think I would do the same, if there was a threat to Konoha's safety," he rubbed the back of his head, unconsciously mimicking another of Obito's habits.

Naruto smiled up at his sensei, "but don't forget that this Sasuke is different, ok? This Sasuke is the most awesome friend ever!" He paused to think, "well, Sakura-chan comes in pretty close, but Sasuke-kun wins 'cause he doesn't hit me all the time."


	10. Infiltrating the Snake's Den

**Chapter 10 – Infiltrating A Snake's Den & the Need to Pee**

In the tallest tower in Kumogakure, the Raikage sat at his desk staring at a letter in front of him. A vein was slowly threatening to burst in his forehead. A trembling paper-pusher in front of him looked like he was going to burst in fear.

_Yo Brother, _

_I'm going on sabbatical to learn enka, kono yaro. Won't be back for a while, baka yaro._

_See ya, brother._

_- B_

"FIND THAT IDIOT AND BRING HIM BACK HERE," he thundered, shattering the desk under his fists.

ooooo

"Yosh! This seems like a good place to rest."

Shizune sighed in relief and leapt off a branch to rest her sore back against a tree. Tonton, who had been running after her, squeaked and burrowed into her arms to fall asleep. The man in green tights was not joking about being 'youthful'. They had made it to their rest location almost an hour early, the other groups were probably still travelling. She knew that Gai would have kept going to cover as much ground as possible if he had not been keeping a surprisingly close eye on her speed in the trees next to him.

The dark-haired medic slowly placed her shishou's sleeping pet on the grass beside her to quietly help Gai set up camp. They had both brought their shinobi issued tents, and set them up side by side. She stretched sore legs and slid the tent poles open, wondering if she would collapse out of exhaustion before they had even reached the hideout. Tsunade-sama had never travelled this fast.

She looked to the right to see that Gai had already put up his entire tent while she had only finished placing the poles. Noticing her glance, the other jonin flashed her a blinding smile and walked over to pick up her tent cloth, helping her set it up.

"Thank you," she stuttered.

"It was a pleasure to help a fellow champion of youth!" Gai declared, finishing her tent, "any friend of Kakashi is a friend of mine!"

"Um…I only met Kakashi-san ye-"

"He has been my eternal rival since we were ten, and rivals make the best friends!" he went on, "and since we are both here to help our friends, we are friends as well!"

"Er…all right," Shizune decided, hoping his exclamations wouldn't wake poor Tonton who was sleeping nearby. She sat in front of her tent opening and unzipped her pack, reaching in for a ration bar. Just as she took her first bite, she heard loud thuds and looked to her side to see that the green tights-wearing jonin was doing pushups on the floor, his back practically flying as he did almost one push-up per second without breaking a sweat.

"Erm…what are you doing?" She queried, sitting on her knees.

"Training!" The man exclaimed, looking sideways at her while continuing his pushups, "I usually grow a little out of shape during missions, so I must attempt to train even harder! It is lucky that we made it here early, so that I have some time to train before sleeping."

"You get out of shape _during your missions_?" Shizune thought herself to be a fairly fit and healthy person compared to the average human being, but she was nowhere near the level of physical fitness this man was demonstrating. She didn't think it was possible to do full pushups that quickly. And they were _proper _ones, not the semi-ones Tsunade-sama did while complaining that her chest made it twice as hard – even if Shizune agreed with her.

"Yes! It is hard to keep up with my training when there is a mission to perform. Join me, and allow your fires of youth to consume you! Once you have a taste of true youth, you will always seek it!" Gai yelled out.

She winced, "Um…I'm not really good at that. My shishou was very fit…but I don't really train for taijutsu very often," she muttered, "and I'm only twenty five. I don't think I need to worry about being youthful," she went on. Gai seemed to be in his mid to late-thirties. Young for a civilian, but he was getting slightly old for a shinobi. Maybe he was one of those men who didn't age well.

"Ah, yes. Kakashi said you were a student of the ever-youthful Tsunade of the Sannin, you must be very capable for her to have chosen you," somehow he was able to talk without a hitch in his voice while doing pushups as if his life counted on them.

"N-no. It wasn't exactly like that. My uncle was…her lover. When he died, I was still a young genin and I had nowhere else to go. Tsunade-sama took me with her when she left Konoha so that I wouldn't have a life as an orphan. She noticed that I had some talent with medical jutsu, and offered to teach me. That's all…"

"Your dedication towards your shishou is truly youthful," Gai paused his exercise to give her a wide smile, "I am honored to work with you! If I may ask, how much can you heal with your medical ninjutsu?"

Shizune was relieved to have something familiar to talk about, and delved into her iryounin talk, "within a minute, I can heal most broken appendage bones as long as they are not too far out of place, any superficial cuts and scrapes, bruises, and I have special soldier pills that will speed up the process of chakra recovery after depletion. Within five minutes I can heal deeper cuts though non-essential organs, broken ribs, and I can set and heal bones that have been distorted out of their position. Within thirty minutes I can heal most stabs to vital organs as long as I get to them fast enough after they are dealt. If I have an hour, I can probably heal punctured lungs. However, if you're stabbed through the heart or blown to pieces, then I'm afraid you're out of my league," she finished hesitantly.

"That is truly remarkable, Shizune-san," he flashed her another blinding smile, "Tsunade-san did not simply force the skill in you, you must be truly talented!" His smile slowly disappeared when he noticed her melancholy expression upon the mention of her shishou. "Is there something bothering you, Shizune-san?"

"I… wonder how Tsunade-sama is doing," Shizune said quietly, running her hands over the sleeping Tonton's soft skin. Ever since _that _day, she had seen her purpose in life as caring for her shishou. She had never before been so far away…

"Your shishou is one of the Legendary Sannin. She'll be fine," Gai assured her.

"She's also the Legendary Sucker," Shizune retorted fondly, "she needs someone who can support her. Well, I suppose that Jinchuuriki kunoichi will beat some sense into her the hard way…"

"Jinchuuriki?" Gai asked.

Shizune suddenly remembered that he hadn't been told the full truth, "it's nothing," she said quickly, "just someone Tsunade-sama met from Kaminari no Kuni."

Gai frowned. It was clear to him that this girl was a formidable medic-nin, but she still seemed a little unsure without the slug princess beside her. He nodded in resolve, determined to show her that he was just as capable.

"Yosh! I will do two hundred more pushups, and if I cannot, then I will do five hundred chin-ups on that branch!" Gai decided, dropping back to the ground. His muscles bulged against the fabric of the tights as he put all his effort into training.

Shizune watched him and laughed a little, cheering up. She bit into her ration bar again and leaned back against the tent. When the bar was finished, she crept inside and laid down in the thin sheets, falling asleep to the soft snorts of Tonton beside her and the grunts of the strange green-tights-wearing jonin still training well into the night. _Protect everyone, and show off your medical jutsu. _She could do that. She would _not _be useless. She would make Tsunade-sama proud.

At exactly two in the morning of the next day, Maito Gai was standing in front of Shizune's tent.

"Shizune-san!"

The dark haired medic lazily turned in her blankets, softly snoring.

"SHIZUNE-SAN!"

She woke up with a gasp and banged her head on the top bar of the small tent. Rubbing it and looking around, she realized that it was still pitch dark outside. Why on earth was the crazy man trying to wake her up at this unholy hour…

Having slept in her clothes, she swung the thin blanket off, grabbed Tonton and nudged her awake, and crawled to the opening of her tent. She peered outside to come within inches of Gai's face.

"Yosh! You are awake! Now we can set out!" He blinded her with a smile that really shouldn't have been legal that early, and offered her a hand. She could barely see where he was going in the absolute darkness, but managed to stumble out of the tent.

She looked blearily to the side to see that he had his entire tent completely packed up and neatly folded into his pack. She took the offered hand and stood up, and he immediately started dismantling her own tent. So much for not being useless…

"So…why are we waking up so early? It would have been fine if we had woken up at three or even four…our entrance is only an hour's travel from here and we do not necessarily need to enter exactly when the seal is disables. It will take Gaara and Jiraiya a while to get from the seal to their back entrance," she asked, as Tonton slowly woke up in her arms.

"Because being early is one of the core tenants of youth. Of course, we ignore the Cool and Hip ones like Kakashi, but everyone else has no excuse. In a mission this important, we must be an hour early. No, two hours!" Gai exclaimed, sliding the tent into her pack and handing it to her, "now go do some morning stretching, because we will be travelling at a most youthful speed!"

_Tsunade-sama…please come save me…_she mentally whimpered.

ooooo

At exactly quarter to four in the morning, Jiraiya and Gaara were dutifully positioned at one of the back corners of the five-corner seal, two kilometers east from Gai and Shizune's rest stop. It was still dark out, but the first rays of sunlight were starting to lazily appear.

The two shinobi looked at the giant paper seal in front of them, and Gaara's eyes widened in recognition, "I know of this seal. This is what the Akatsuki used to seal of the cave containing the Gedo Mazo while they were extraction Shukaku."

"Yes, that would have been a good use for it. The thing about this seal is that once it is disabled, the creators of the seal know about it immediately. However, they do _not _know where the seal has been disabled from, or where the intruders are entering, so it is less than ideal for a place for multiple entrances," the toad sage explained. He examined the circular markings closely.

"The amount of chakra placed in the seal controls the size of the region it can protect. This one was set here a while ago, so the other four seals are probably a good kilometer away."

Gaara frowned, "when I was rescued, they had to remove each seal at the same time, and let Sakura-san punch into the cave. How will we do that with only two people? You can use your toads to contact Kakashi-san and Naruto, but we have no way of contacting Shizune-san and Gai-san."

"Ah. Well I," Jiraiya said proudly, "am a master of fuuinjutsu! I can figure out the proper reverse seal that will disable this one. Since the five-corner seal must have _all five seals _to work_, _the others will be disabled as well."

"That is a truly useful skill, Jiraiya-san," Gaara commented, "you have around thirteen minutes to draft the reverse seal."

"Got it," the toad sage unhooked his pack and pulled out seal paper and a brush, carefully drawing the base of the seal. Then he looked between the seal paper and the five-corner seal carefully, slowly inscribing symbols along the base circle. Gaara stood guard over him, watching for any sign of movement in the trees. Most of Orochimaru's hideout was underground, and each entrance was carefully concealed. That meant that their fights would either be in the forest outside the entrances, or in the narrow corridors and large subterranean rooms below.

Even in such areas, his ability was not useless. Anywhere there was earth, there was sand. If they were underground, he would simply have to beat the sand out of the compressed ceilings instead of the stone floors. Jiraiya had already unsealed the sand of his gourd, which he would carry in his emptied-out pack. Although his abilities were not made for covert missions, he could be covert if the situation required it.

"Finished. This should do it," the toad sage exclaimed, holding up a seal with a circular base and symbols spiraling into it. He carefully laid it over the five-corner seal, making sure the two circular bases overlapped perfectly. Then he placed his hands down and allowed chakra to flow into the seal, activating it. As the first seal activated, the one beneath it slowly lost power, being canceled out.

"That should do it. They now know that their seal has been destroyed. We will wait for Kakashi and Naruto to make their 'grand' entrance as planned," Jiraiya rolled the scroll back up and hooked it around his back.

"The signal was the explosion," Gaara nodded, "we will wait near one of the back entrances until we see it."

The two leapt off the rock that contained the seal and began making their way in.

ooooo

"Four o'clock exactly," Kakashi reported, "the way is clear."

They were standing in front of another of the five seals, waiting for Orochimaru's missing-nin to investigate. Once they appeared, they would make no attempt at hiding themselves, instead pretending that they had been caught in the action.

Naruto tucked the brown strands of his henge's hair behind his ears. As a former member of the anbu, Kakashi had shown himself to be quite formidable at disguises. He had carefully picked out a henge that merged naturally into Naruto's features, making it hard to distinguish a henge from the usual methods of seeing the extra translucency through the light. Of course, that meant his henge was a young boy as well…but it was beneficial when enemies underestimated him. It had gotten him out of many tricky situations.

"Now we wait," he said softly, "although I have to mention, if we see a man with long white hair and two dots on his forehead, leave him to me. Your abilities aren't really suited to fighting him, and it might tire you out a little." Kakashi could eventually defeat Kimimaro if he tried, but it would take a toll on his chakra reserves. Naruto knew that in bijuu mode, Kimimaro would be no match for him. Hopefully, he would be able to take the man out in a single hit, before he could start using his curse seal.

"Hmm. Alright," the jonin replied steadily. He slapped his hands together and leaned down to push them against the ground.

"Kuchiose!"

In a cloud of chakra, a small dog appeared in the middle of the summons.

"Pakkun!" Naruto greeted, "that's a good idea!"

"Yo," the dog greeted, "what are you doing this time, Kakashi?"

"I need you to dismiss yourself the moment someone else approaches," Kakashi leaned down to tell him, "because I want to know when they're coming and make them think that they caught us off guard, but that's rather hard if they see a ninken standing with us. Unless we're trying to give off the image of being incredibly stupid, and I don't think they'll believe that of people who have apparently taken down their master's five-corner seal."

"You have the strangest requests, Kakashi. Sure, whatever. There's no one around currently. What exactly are you doing?" The dog pawned his way onto the rock the seal was laid on top of and settled down.

"We're trying to kill one of the Sannin, and take down all the missing-nin and weapons in his hideout while we're on it," the jonin said, his eyes crinkled from his smile.

"You're a weird one, alright. Started getting weirder ever since this kid arrived. Maybe he's rubbing off on you," Pakkun looked lazily at Naruto.

"I have memories from the future," Naruto explained happily.

"…a real nut, he is," the dog deadpanned, "but wha-"

Suddenly he disappeared in a cloud of chakra. Kakashi and Naruto put themselves on alert, but instead of surveying the forest, they leaned against the rock, pretending to be off-guard.

"This will be easy," Kakashi said loudly, "they're just a bunch of missing-nin. No match for us."

"Yup!" Naruto agreed, "and there are rumors that Orochimaru is growing weaker. Even his seal was easy to get through. Did you time me?"

"Yup. It took you exactly five minutes to destroy it," the jonin replied, one hand resting on the rock, "and it should take them a good hour to find us."

"Wrong!" A voice yelled from the trees. A kunai whipped by Naruto's ear, missing him by centimeters. He turned around quickly, drafting a surprised look onto his face.

"The disturbance has been found. Inform Orochimaru-sama," the dark-skinned man who was standing confidently in front of them yelled out. Behind him, a pale man with lavender hair glared at them.

"What were you idiots thinking, waking us up at this unholy hour? I wanna teach them a little lesson," the pale man snarled.

"Our orders are to inform Orochimaru-sama with any disturbances. Go immediately, and I'll hold them off," the darker-skinned man instructed. Clearly, he had enough brain for the both of them.

"Must we really bother Orochimaru-sama with these idiots?" Lavender-hair sneered, eyeing Kakashi and Naruto carefully. Naruto gritted his teeth. This was the man who had almost killed Kiba. Although if he could only remember his damn name…

"Sakon, and Ukon!" he yelled out, pointed happily, "I know your names! That's pretty rare, you know. I'm usually not very good at remembering small fry."

The man jumped out of the tree and landed within meters of him, an annoyed look on his face, "how do you know about my brother?"

"Doesn't really matter, does it?" Kakashi smiled. The smile remained on his face as he braced himself and bent his knees, slowly pooling lightning-imbued chakra into one hand.

"Chidori!"

He rushed forward with a speed that couldn't be stopped, birds chirping as the blue lightning went directly for Sakon's surprised face.

"Wha-" The sound ninja didn't have a chance to say anything more, as the lightning slammed into him. The Chidori was a one-hit technique. Both Sakon and Ukon were dead within seconds. Naruto had already told him about their curse seals, and they weren't going to risk fighting against them for long periods of time. It was better to take them out in one blow.

Kakashi retreated, the lightning dying out in his hand. Still in the tree, Kidomaru frowned and leapt back, presumably going to inform Orochimaru. Naruto made to follow him, but Kakashi put a hand on his shoulder to hold him back.

"No, let him inform Orochimaru. We need him to send all his missing-nin to intercept us so that Jiraiya and Gaara won't be troubled on their way in," he explained, "I'm going to summon Pakkun again, an this time he'll stay with us," he reached down and in a cloud of chakra, the little bulldog was back.

"Again? I'm getting tired of your strangeness, Kakashi," the dog mumbled, "who's the dead guy?" he looked over at Sakon's mangled body.

"One of the Sound Four, Orochimaru's sound ninja," Naruto explained, "the other one went to get reinforcements."

"And you're going to sit around here and wait for them to arrive?" The dog deadpanned.

"Yup. That's the plan," Kakashi replied, "tell us when anyone arrives."

"So basically, your summons is only good for making up for your lack of sensory skill," Naruto stated playfully, "at least Gamatatsu can help me fight."

"Jiraiya-san's smallest toad? All he does is eat," Kakashi retorted.

"Oi! He gets better, ok? Soon he'll be as strong as Bunta and then we'll see!" Naruto yelled, thinking of his toad friend fondly.

"Kakashi," Pakkun turned to his summoner, "stop your chattering. There are shinobi headed this way. They're strong."

"Looks like that dark-skinned guy told Orochimaru how we took out his man with one hit," Kakashi commented.

"Yeah? Well we'll be stronger," Naruto took out five paper bombs and wrapped them around kunai. He threw the kunai directly into the trees, and watched as they burst into fire, sending a small explosion into the air. Their signal had been sent.

"Let's go," Kakashi ran into the trees to find the hideout entrance, with Naruto on his heels.

ooooo

Two kilometers to the west, Gai and Shizune spotted the explosion. It was almost four thirty in the morning, and the explosion was unmistakable against the dark sky.

"Yosh, there is our cue," Gai said quietly, "we must enter now, and find this Yakushi Kabuto."

"Yes, Gai-san," Shizune nodded and followed him out of the tree they had been hiding behind. The entrance they had selected was one that was right beside the third seal. It was a direct underground entrance, and lead to the corridors of the laboratory.

They headed to the rock the seal had been set on, and Shizune quickly ripped off the third seal, noting that it came free easily since it had been disabled. She nodded to Gai, and stood back.

"Hrrggh," Gai positioned himself on one side of the rock and slipped his fingers underneath it. He pulled upward, muscles flexing with the effort, and the rock slowly began to move. He was doing with raw strength what Orochimaru's sound ninja usually did with doton jutsu.

When the rock had been moved enough for both of them to slip through, he gestured to her, and slid into the narrow gap in the ground. She followed after him, legs dangling in space as she struggled to squeeze through, leaving Tonton on top. She then put her arms out to catch the small pig as he leapt into the hole after her.

"Buhi," Tonton whispered, giving away his slight agitation by waving his legs.

"Someone's coming," Shizune translated, squeezing Tonton to indicate for him to be quiet. Just in front of them, the narrow underground passage turned sharply to the right. Soon enough, they heard light footsteps coming from the right. Gai nodded and flattened himself against the curve of the wall, one fist positioned to strike anyone who came around.

"Who's there?" A man questioned as he turned the corner. He was holding a small tanto carefully in front of him. He never had a chance to use it, as Gai's fist slammed into his face the moment he came into view. The guard slumped against the opposite wall, and Gai picked him up and threw him over to where Shizune was standing. The dark-haired medic quickly stepped out of the way, and the man's body landed beside her.

"Just so they don't see him when they look down the corridor," Gai explained, "let's go."

Shizune nodded and followed him, running to match his quick steps. She was confident in Tonton's ability to sniff out approaching enemies; Kakashi-san's little dog Pakkun could eat his heart out. The corridor was dark, lit only by the hints of light that filtered in through the roots above. Below were little stones that, together, resembled a floor, and the dirt had been left compressed on either side.

They reached another branch in the tunnel, and Gai immediately chose a path at will. Probably assuming that his youthfulness would allow him to make the right decision. After a few more breaks in the tunnels, Shizune felt like she had somewhat of a map. She was fairly confident in her ability to track their way back out.

"Buhi," Tonton squeaked again.

"Gai-san – "

The older jonin nodded, quickly taking out the sound ninja who poked his head around the tunnel to see what the disturbance was.

"That pig, it is a tracker?"

"Yes. Tonton has a very keen nose, he is on par with most ninken," Shizune responded, "that is why I brought him with us. He is Tsunade-sama's pet."

"Buhi buhi buhi," Tonton stated, wriggling his foot to the left.

"There's something he finds interesting over that way," Shizune explained.

"Go ahead, I will follow," Gai fell back and allowed her to lead the way, keeping an eye for any guards or Oto-nin. Shizune ran ahead, taking each split tunnel to the left as Tonton indicated. The tunnels were slowly getting lighter as the sun rose in the sky and allowed more light to filter through. Now they could see their way more clearly, but it would also be harder to hide against the side of the tunnels if they were spotted. After taking five lefts, they eventually came to an entrance to a larger room. Shizune laid herself flat against the outside wall and waited for Gai to check for danger.

The older jonin used his shoulder to burst the door open, revealing a larger underground chamber. He walked in to check around for any presence, but was stopped in his tracks by the sight that greeted him. For a moment, he simply stood still, looking around.

"Gai-san?" Shizune crept into the room, Tonton shivering in her arms. She gasped when he saw what the other jonin had paused at.

All around the room, there were large, clear canisters. Each was filled with either water, or some other liquid, and a few contained actual people, floating upside down in the tubes. Down the middle were long rows of wooden tables with various pieces of equipment, and apart from the humanoids in the tanks, there were no other people in the room.

"So this is what they meant by 'experiments'. I never thought it would be anything like this," Gai muttered, looking around the tanks, "we must find this Kabuto person as quickly as possible."

"Yes," Shizune agreed, "I think I understand why Orochimaru was sent away fr-" Suddenly Gai was right beside her, grabbing her upper arm and pulling her to the side. The force made her fall to the floor a few meters away, but she quickly pulled herself up and stared at the kunai that was embedded deeply in the floor she had once stood on. Gai rushed over to stand in front of her, looking at the aggressor who was standing on the ceiling.

"Looking for me?" Yakushi Kabuto asked, flipping over so that he was no longer upside down. He landed three meters in front of them, "why me in particular?"

"Why wouldn't we be looking for you, Yakushi Kabuto?!" Gai yelled, one hand out in front as he took the stance of his signature fighting style.

"Well there are many people here that are far more remarkable, I'm only one of Orochimaru-sama's helpers. I've never actually gotten this much attention. To think someone would try breaking into Orochimaru-sama's headquarters simply to find _me _is rather humorous," Kabuto grinned, pushing his glasses further up his nose with one hand, "would you really fight a defenseless iryounin?"

In response, Gai narrowed his eyes, "your activities here are extremely unyouthful. For this, you will have to come back to Konoha for questioning," he stated.

Kabuto frowned, "I am loyal to Orochimaru-sama. I would never give him away," he positioned his hands in front of him, and blue chakra began to glow on the sides of his palms.

Gai spent no time waiting. He rushed forwards with one hand fisted to deliver a blow to Kabuto's right arm, but the iryounin moved quickly out of the way, bringing one chakra-covered hand down on Gai's left arm. Shizune watched in horror as his bare hand somehow managed to cut into the jonin's arm like a knife. The cut was not too deep, but Gai noticed it and his eyes widened slightly. Instead of retreating, he leaned forward to land a strong punch with his other hand in Kabuto's stomach, causing the younger shinobi to fly backwards and crash into one of the tanks.

Kabuto got up slowly, "I see you're surprised at what I did to your arm."

"There is a kunai under your skin," Gai stated. He moved back into position, except putting his opposite arm forward, ready to strike again.

"This is my iryounin technique, Chakra Kaiboto, but only I have control precise enough to use it in a fight," Kabuto grinned, "do not underestimate me. I may be a genin, but I can handle a jonin if I need to."

"I will take you back to Konoha," Gai stated, as Kabuto tried to escape around the tank. He rushed forward with a speed that the genin could not beat, and appeared in front. Kabuto managed to bring both arms up in time to take most of the damage of Gai's punch with his lower arms. He went flying back, and re-oriented himself with a grunt.

"I will not betray Orochimaru-sama!" He yelled. Realizing that Gai was stronger than most of the jonin he had fought previously, he looked around for a chance to run away and inform Orochimaru.

Shizune saw him attempt his escape from the corner of her eye, and quickly dropped Tonton to guard the entrance of the laboratory.

"I won't let you pass," she stated, eyes narrowed.

"I'll make you!" Kabuto rushed forward, one chakra-imbued hand positioned to strike the center of her chest. Shizune took one look at the hand and knew exactly what it was. It was the Chakra Scalpel, a technique used to improve accuracy during surgery. Tsunade-sama had spent months teaching her how to use it, because having ninety-nine percent finger accuracy greatly increased the chance of completing a surgery successfully. The technique required the utmost control of one's chakra, and usually could not be preformed with anyone with large chakra reserves, with the exception of the legendary Tsunade herself. The fact that this genin was able to concentrate enough to use it in battle was quite impressive. It was countered only by the fact that Shizune could do the same.

Kabuto's eyes widened when her own hand, surrounded with the same blue chakra, blocked his strike. Shizune aimed another strike at his head with her free hand, but he evaded it easily and jumped back.

"You are an iryounin as well," he stated, dodging Gai's attack from behind.

Shizune didn't answer. She kept her Chakra Kaiboto activated and widened her stance, determined not to let Yakushi Kabuto anywhere near the exit.

"Surely you understand the need for knowledge!" Kabuto yelled, blocking another of Gai's strikes. The older jonin frowned and leapt back, curious to hear exactly what he was trying to say.

"Iryounin only read though scroll after scroll," he yelled, "we never get to _discover, _to put our hands in and _see humans for ourselves. _We're not allowed that, all because some people think it's _unethical_! How do you think the foundations of iryou-ninjutsu were created!?"

Gai decided he had heard enough, and went in with his left hand fisted. Kabuto accounted for his move and tried to leap up, but Gai simply turned halfway though his strike with unbelievable agility and caught Kabuto in his stomach instead. The genin managed to bring his palm down before he was thrust away, slicing a shallow cut thought Gai's shoulder. The older man seemed to barely feel it as Kabuto went flying away from his fist.

He took his stance again, waiting for Kabuto to get back up to his feet.

"Orochimaru-sama gave me that chance!" Kabuto yelled, "he saw my passion for learning about life! That is what this is, the results of years of experiments!"

Deciding he was too angry to wait for the genin to stand up, Gai slowly made his way over.

Shizune narrowed her eyes, "you're not trying to help people, Yakushi Kabuto. I can see what you're doing in those tanks. You're trying to turn people into monsters by fixing the weaknesses that make them human!"

"Buhi!" Tonton sounded as loudly as his tiny vocal chords could go, looking as enraged as a pig could manage at the threat to his mistress.

Kabuto was probably upper chunin level, but there was nothing he could do against one of Konoha's best jonin. Gai made quick work of the medic in minutes, and finally leapt over with Kabuto tied up tightly in the white bandages he carried.

"He wasn't very powerful at all," Gai commented, "he may have been a formidable iryounin, but he was not very skilled in pure taijutsu, and I left no chances for him to perform any ninjutsu. That first kunai strike he had attempted was the best he had."

"Then why is your arm bleeding?" Shizune asked lightly, taking the unconscious, tied-up Kabuto from his arms. She threw him to one side, assuming that he would remain out cold.

"I was simply distracted. It was a lucky hit."

"You're losing some blood."

"It'll come back."

"It's not bad at all, but it's best if I take care of it early on," Shizune commanded, smiling. She bandaged the bleeding arm and quickly coated her hands with chakra, coaxing the superficial muscles to knit back more quickly.

In under a minute, she stood back, "done."

Gai flexed his arm, "You are truly skilled, Shizune-san. I can barely feel the cut," he flexed his arm and grinned, "we've finished our first task. We should leave Kabuto hidden outside and then go to provide back up for Kakashi and his partner. Do you have anything we can use to subdue Kabuto?"

"I have a variety of poisons that will have him out for days," she nodded, "I can knock him out for any length of time."

"BUHI," Tonton yelled nearby from where he had jumped out of Shizune's arms.

"I won't…betray…Orochi….maru-sa...ma"

Shizune snapped her head to one side to see where Tonton was nudging their captive. Her eyes widened in shock. Kabuto had woken up from the punch, and his face clouded over.

"No!" She rushed over to where she had thrown him, but it was already too late.

"What is it? What happened?" Gai peered at Kabuto over her shoulder, "did he do something?"

Shizune swallowed nervously, "I…don't think we'll be able to take him captive. He's…dead."

"How? I only punched hard enough to allow him to fall unconscious!" The jonin narrowed his eyebrows.

"He's swallowed his tongue and choked on it. With all his medical experience…he's done it well," she sighed, "well, at least we weren't required to bring him back alive."

"This is most unyouthful! A shinobi must always perform well above what is expected of him," Gai mourned, "but I suppose it is unwise to cry over spilt milk…yosh, let us go ahead and continue with our mission!"

Well, he certainly got over things quickly. Shizune glanced at the dead Kabuto and frowned. For some reason, she felt responsible. She was the iryounin, she should have known that he might attempt something like this…she started when she felt a hand griping her arm.

"Buhi," Tonton said softly.

"We must be quiet. Even I can hear that people are approaching," he pulled her and Tonton behind one of the tanks and crouched down. Shizune stayed hidden well behind the tank while Gai leaned out slightly. Two shinobi entered the room, one was a light red-haired woman wearing a sound hitai-ite, and another was a shinobi from…Konoha?

"Oi! What's this?!" The woman yelled, seeing Kabuto's body on the floor, "the fuck is four-eyes doing down there?"

"A lady shouldn't use such language, Tayuya-san," the man wearing the Konoha hitai-ite said.

"Oh shut it Yoroi, you're starting to sound like the fatty," the woman remarked, nudging Kabuto's body with her foot, "is this kid alive or what?"

Yoroi leant down, "Kabuto-san?" he asked sharply. Receiving no reply, he put his fingers to the medic's neck, feeling around for a pulse. After a few minutes of fumbling around the genin's pale neck, he stood back up. "Kabuto-san is dead. We must inform Orochimaru-sama."

"You do that boring stuff, I'll find you who did it and give them a fucking one way trip with my Doki," she bared her teeth, "no one can just walk into Orochimaru-sama's headquarters!" She pulled a silver flute out of the folds of her shirt and held it in front, looking quite like she was going to _play _someone to death.

"That is what makes it worrying," Yoroi stated, "we must go straight to inform him of what has happened. On the way, we will send reinforcements to this area."

Gai stiffened beside her. Shizune knew that 'reinforcements' was generally a bad word when spoken by enemies, and stiffened as well. She wondered what they could do in the situation. They had absolutely no information on any of their abilities. The shinobi who was wearing the Konoha hitai-ite was not carrying any weapons, and the red-haired girl was carrying her flute as if _it _was a weapon. Was it wise to go ahead and charge them? Or should they wait until their backs were turned? Or should they let them go? What was one supposed to do in these situations?

Gai made the decision for her.

"If those two were anything like Kabuto, I can take them down quickly. Stay here, and feel free to come out if you see an opening," he stated.

Shizune nodded, clutching a kunai tightly in one hand and Tonton even more tightly in the other.

ooooo

Back in Konoha, Main – or, as he liked to call himself, _Naruto_ – was heading to the training grounds to meet up with his teammates. He wasn't planning on actually training; he just needed to tell Sasuke and Sakura about their sensei's mission and then get back to the apartment where he could stay safely. He was a chakra intensive clone and probably wouldn't dispel with a single prick, but he wasn't taking any chances. Backup was hidden safely in Naruto's closet, probably sleeping.

He walked lazily towards training ground seven, basking in the pleasant morning light. Suddenly, there was a hand on his shoulder.

Naruto spun around quickly to see Lee standing behind him. The older genin had crept up on him with barely a sound, and was giving him a smile.

"Good morning, Naruto-kun!"

"'Morning," Naruto replied, feeling a little worried. He looked behind the green tights to see Tenten and Neji both standing behind him. That was strange. He was currently in training ground eight. This was not where Team Gai usually trained.

"So is it true, Naruto-kun?" Lee asked with a bright smile.

"Yeah, did you really hold up in a fight against a missing-nin?!" Tenten exclaimed from behind him, "because that's what Kakashi-sensei apparently told Gai-sensei – well, actually Gai-sensei probably wrestled the information out of him – who told us yesterday in order to 'motivate us into becoming just as youthful'."

No one could deny that news travelled fast in Konoha.

"Er…yeah," Naruto said cheerfully, keeping up appearances, "I totally kicked his ass. Even before Kakashi-sensei came."

"Our young Naruto-kun has grown well since he became a genin!" Lee exclaimed, "one day he may even take your place as my rival, Neji-kun!"

Neji, who had remained silent so far, simply grunted. However, there was a strange look in his eyes.

"Is it also true that Kakashi-sensei taught you a cool new jutsu? Because that's what Kakashi-sensei told Sakura, who tol-"

"Yeah! He did!" Naruto interrupted.

"That is what one can expect from a student of Gai-sensei's rival!" Lee yelled, excited.

Suddenly, Neji was pushing Lee out of the way to stand in front of Naruto, arms crossed over his chest.

"Fight me."

It wasn't really a question. It wasn't even a command. It was spoken like a fact. Right, this Neji was a fate-nut.

"Er…I'm really not up to it-"

"I saw your first match against Lee. It was nothing great. You couldn't have improved so much in only a month. You will fight me, and then I will see," Neji took a step back and settled into the traditional jyuuken stance.

"I'm really tired right now-"

"You just woke up, and you were on your way to train with your team."

"I have to conserve my energy-"

"Take this as your training for the day. It will not be an easy fight."

"I..uh…need to pee-"

"Hold it in," Neji's eyes narrowed as he charged at Naruto, "Byakugan!"

_Shit, _Naruto thought. He had completely forgotten that this far back, Neji was still an arrogant bastard who fancied himself the strongest genin in Konoha. Hearing that another genin had fought off a missing-nin would greatly annoy someone like him. But he really didn't have time to be dealing with Neji right now…especially since a nice, strong, punch would send him out.

He cleanly avoided the Hyuga's first palm strike. It wasn't too hard, since he was familiar with the technique, and Neji was still not nearly as strong as he had grown up to be. Neji lunged forward with his right arm, palm laced with chakra. Naruto leaned to the right, missing it by centimeters, and grabbed the older boy's shoulder with speed he really shouldn't have revealed. He used his grip to thrust the Hyuga boy to the side. Neji recovered neatly and spun around as if dancing, aiming a strike at Naruto's exposed back.

"I really don't want to fight right now!" Naruto yelled as he leapt to the left. Behind him, Neji's back was open. However, going in for a strike was too risky.

"Do not worry, Naruto-kin. This is simply how Neji-kun expresses his feelings of manly recognition. Fight him well!" Lee cheered, with Tenten grinning beside him and eagerly watching the show.

Neji leapt back, not risking his exposed back, "you should not have been able to avoid that."

"I'm really fast when I need to pee," Naruto explained, dread seeping up on him as the Hyuga boy lunged again at his chest. He had positioned his arms to either side, so that Naruto would not be able to easily avoid the strike by leaning out of the way. Instead, Naruto leapt forward, avoiding the chakra-laced palms and flipping himself neatly over Neji's shoulder. He looked back to see that the other boy had dipped low to turn around before his back could be left open again.

Now, Neji was beginning to get frustrated, and that could only be bad. Naruto was aware that he could not perform Hakkeshou: Kaiten yet; that was something he had learned right before the chunin exams. But even without that, he was a formidable opponent for a clone who wasn't allowed to use most of his repertoire. As he dodged a palm aimed at the tenketsu point in his upper thigh, Naruto leapt back to think. He couldn't run; Neji would just follow him, and at this point there was a chance the other boy would be able to run for longer.

While he was thinking, Naruto saw Neji's palm coming up to the tenketsu point in the middle of his chest. If it hit, it would dispel him for sure. Neji wouldn't use as much chakra as would be needed to seriously damage, but a clone couldn't afford to take _any _damage. He quickly leaned out of the way, confident in his superior speed. While he was moving out of the way, he felt a sharp pain in his thigh. His head snapped down to see Neji's left palm retreat from the gentle pressure it had made on the tenketsu point.

_What? No! _Naruto's eyes widened as he realized that he had just taken the hit. He hadn't even felt the physical hit, but he acutely felt the pain of the blocked tenketsu point in his leg. He jumped back, preparing for the familiar _pop _as he exploded in a cloud of chakra.

His legs met the ground ten feet back, still solid. He looked down, confused, at his leg, and why he was still in existence.

Neji mistook his confusion for the confusion at the feeling of pain, "that was the result of the technique used by my clan, the jyuuken. Even the softest tap can inject chakra into your tenketsu, blocking them off," he said with a determined expression, "somehow you have managed to last quite a while, but now this fight is mine." He lunged forwards as Naruto leapt back even further, putting distance between them.

_Of course, _Naruto understood, _the 'softest touch'. He was leaning forwards while I was jumping back; his palm was only able to barely graze my leg. Although he was able to block one of my tenketsu, the actual blow was not hard enough to dispel me, it was barely more than a tap. _He stopped leaping back and held his ground with some renewed confidence. If he couldn't stop the fight, and couldn't lose, then the only choice was to win.

There had to be someway to fight him off, at least until he was chakra-drained. Naruto frowned. He was four times as strong as a normal cannon-fodder clone, which meant that he could potentially make three other generic clones. However, that would reduce him to a short-living clone, and he probably wouldn't be able to last as long as he had to, especially since he would have to use more chakra for jutsu. Well, that _was _what Backup was there for anyway…

He narrowed his eyes and brought his fingers into the clone seal.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" He yelled, watching as three other clones popped into existence.

"Your silly perverted jutsu will not work on me," Neji warned, clearing remembering his first fight against Lee.

"I wasn't planning on using it," Naruto retorted, "I'm going to show you the cool new jutsu I learned!" Hopefully it would end the fight fast, and get Lee and Tenten off his back.

Two Naruto clones charged ahead, hands fisted. One attacked from the front, allowing Neji to easily dispel it with a quick strike to its chest. Another jumped on him from the back, forcing him to flip around so that it was underneath him. He quickly struck it out of existence.

"Is that all you-" Neji paused mid-sentence, feeling an ominous amount of chakra above him. He snapped his head up to see two Naruto clones coming directly at him from above.

"Rasengan!" Naruto yelled. The clone beside him pushed itself down first, wrapping itself around Neji's back. The older genin quickly spun around and the momentum caused the clone to slide far enough for him to deliver a quick strike to its head. That move, however, left both his hands in front of him, completely unprepared for the ball of chakra that was descending upon him.

Naruto, still above his head, spun to orient the rasengan parallel to Neji's back, and then pushed it forward as he landed, driving the blue ball into the older genin's back before he had the chance to turn around and defend himself. The rasengan was pitifully weak since he had used up almost all his extra chakra making the clones, but it was enough to send Neji spinning a two meters ahead before he collapsed face first onto the ground.

For a while, Neji lay there in shock. He tried to push himself to continue the fight, but he realized that he his body had taken too much damage from that strange jutsu. It would take him a while before his chakra replenished. Naruto had won.

"It seems…that fate has decreed you the winner," he said solemnly, making his way onto his feet with an unreadable expression on his face. The expression slowly evolved into a sort of recognition, and then into downright challenge. Despite his talk of fate, Neji was not going to stop himself from challenging Naruto again.

"No, a cool jutsu declared him the winner," Tenten retorted, "but….wow," she turned to Naruto, wide-eyed, "you…beat Neji-kun." She was watching him with new interest, probably wondering which weapon she should use when she challenged him to a spar herself.

"Congratulations, Naruto-kun!" Lee exclaimed, "now I will fight you as well! Let us see how far your new-found power of youth extends!"

Naruto barely recognized that they were saying things. He was in a full panic. There were mere seconds left before...

"I need to peeeee-" He yelled, clutching himself tightly and running as fast as he could into the safety of the trees that surrounding the training grounds.

"I wish to face you at your fastest!" he heard Lee yell from behind him, "if that is when you need to relieve yourself, then so be it! The power of hard work seems to have truly helped you, Naruto-kun!"

Naruto made sure he was properly hidden behind a tree, and allowed himself to dispel with a sigh of relief.

Inside Kakashi's apartment, Backup woke suddenly from his nap. He briefly considered going out, but then decided that it was too risky, with Lee looking to fight him. For the rest of the day, he remained in the closet, trying to think of a plan. The best he could come up with was staying in the apartment and pretending to be sick. Yes, that would work just fine. And maybe Sakura-chan would bring him some flowers.

Five hours later, the news had spread though the shinobi of Konoha. Dead Last Uzumaki Naruto had beaten Neji, the young genius of the Hyuga clan. More importantly, he had done it while he was both sick and distracted by the need to pee.


	11. Hunting the Snake Sannin

**Aaaand the 9,000 word milestone has been breached. Enjoy, wonderful readers ^^**

**Chapter 11 - Hunting the Snake Sannin & Shizune's Confidence**

"Naruto, I've decided that I'm really not cut out for flashy battles," Kakashi stated, leaping back from his fight with an oto-nin to position himself with his back to his student, "but I _am _trusting you with my blind spot, and you had better keep it clear _or else_."

"You can trust me, sensei!" Naruto exclaimed, "and come on, you're not even sweating! They're only small fry. You don't need to go all secret-deadly-anbu on them," he sent a kunai that flew a short way to embed itself in another oto-nin's chest. It seemed that Orochimaru was sending his 'testing' prisoners out to do his work for him. Minutes after Kidomaru had disappeared to report, a veritable small army of people in ragged uniform had ambushed them, all wearing sound hitai-ite haphazardly tied around their heads. A few had some unique bloodline limits. There had been a middle-aged man who had been able to use a half-developed ice technique, and one who had tried to choke Kakashi with a smoke-affinity. The older jonin had simply glared at him though his mask, which had successfully filtered the smoke.

However it was obvious that they were mere prototypes. None of them were very strong on their own, being lower chunin level at best. Kakashi, on the other hand, had seemed almost…uncomfortable at purposely drawing so much attention to themselves. It was ironic that they had their former anbu assassin out in the open while Gaara, the future Kazekage, was attempting to remain covert.

"It's not something I'm used to, Naruto-kun. I suppose it's a new experience…"

"Experiences are good things, sensei," Naruto enthusiastically took down an oto-nin that came too close with a weak rasengan.

"Of course they are. In my duties as jonin-sensei, I try my best to provide you with as many beneficial experiences as possible," Kakashi stated lightly, shuriken flying from his long fingers.

"You mean like that time we were weeding a farmer's field and you conveniently forgot to mention where his bulls were grazing?" Kakashi watched with a small smile as Pakkun bit into the leg of an oto-nin, allowing him to knock the man out with the blunt end of his kunai.

"You had to improvise, and pretend to be bull fighters to get the animal off your heels. And it was rather funny watching you use Sakura as your 'red cloth'. That built character."

"Built character?! How?"

"Well…somehow it worked. You have a character," Kakashi stated, deflecting a kunai that had been thrown in Naruto's blind spot.

"Sensei!"

"Kakashi! Someone's coming," Pakkun stood guard beside his summoner's foot

Suddenly, the attacks stopped. Naruto and Kakashi looked up in confusion to see that all the shinobi in prisoner's uniforms had turned to look at a man who was emerging from the shade of the trees. Naruto lifted a kunai and narrowed his eyes. So the barrage of cannon-fodder had finally ended.

The man who emerged was pale in the morning light, and had clear white hair hanging free over his shoulder. Two distinctive dots marked his forehead. Kakashi remembered Naruto's warning and frowned.

"Everyone," Kimimaro stated without any emotion in his voice, "you may all go back," he stopped a few meters in front of them, standing absolutely still.

"One of those men have been identified as Hatake Kakashi of the Sharingan. Orochimaru-sama has decided to send me to finish them off," he finished, looking straight into Kakashi's eyes, "you will regret disturbing Orochimaru-sama's sleep."

The myriad of prisoners slowly retreated, disappearing into the trees as Kimimaro revealed himself. Naruto stepped in front of Kakashi, hoping his sensei would remember what he had said before.

"You won't be able to defeat us by yourself," he said.

"We will see," Kimimaro replied, "Dance of the Willows". He moved his right arm across his middle, and it rested on his left, where a small bone was beginning to peak out of his skin. Kakashi watched in horror as the pale man pulled the bone of his arm straight out of his body, holding it in front of him like it was a weapon. Slowly, other bones began to protrude from his body, surrounding him in a shield of spikes.

"Hatake Kakashi. Orochimaru-sama has deemed me powerful enough to face you. I will prove his assessment correct," Kimimaro stated, "I will defend his headquarters."

"Your situations get worse every time you summon me these days Kakashi," Pakkun growled at the pale man, "this one may be young, but he's strong."

"You're opponent is me!" Naruto yelled, drawing from him a raised eyebrow.

"Who are you?"

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto!" Naruto exclaimed, standing with his hands on his hips. He really missed these introductions…

"Is that wise?" Kakashi asked quietly from behind him.

"He'll be dead before he leaves this clearing. It's only fair if he knows who killed him," Naruto explained loudly.

"Uzumaki Naruto, you too will pay for having woken Orochimaru-sama," Kimimaro carefully narrowed his eyes.

_Oi Kurama. You ready? _Naruto asked the dormant fox.

_I am. I vaguely remember this one. Finish him quickly. _Kurama stated, _I will begin controlling your chakra expulsion now._

Naruto grinned widely and felt the strange feeling overtake him. First it felt like all his natural chakra was being swept up by a vacuum, until he was left lightheaded and giddy. Then, slowly, a small trickle of chakra made its way back into his system. The trickle widened until it was a tap, slowly filling his reserves to the brim. Then, the fox began to provide the extra chakra, and it felt like someone was slowly energizing every muscle in his body. His reserves were now an ocean, filled with enough chakra to take out entire villages.

"Bijuu mode!" He yelled, sensing Kakashi step back into the trees with Pakkun sitting on his shoulder. The chakra began to surround him, buzzing and bright orange. The raw chakra felt different from any jutsu. It was pure, and there was nothing between it and his enemy.

"What is this?" Kimimaro asked, seeing the feral whisker marks widen. He did not betray any of his fear, but slowly more bone escaped from his body.

"Dance of the Larch," he whispered, preparing for Naruto's attack. He immediately recognized that the ominous chakra was powerful; black lines began to spread from his chest until they covered his body.

"Your strange technique does not matter. I will defeat you with the power Orochimaru-sama has given me," he said quietly, preparing Hana over one hand. The giant bone structure was formidably strong, but Naruto knew it was no match for the Kyuubi's chakra.

"Well it's too bad, because I'm only going to waste one hit on you!" Naruto yelled, his voice rough and scratchy from the transformation, "Rasenrengan!"

Five giant Rasengan emerged from the raw chakra surrounding him as he knelt on all fours for support. Each went flying towards Kimimaro, covering such a large area that he had nowhere to run. Eyes widened, Kimimaro jumped upwards to escape the barrage.

That was probably the worse thing he could have done. The five giant balls of chakra shot after him, catching him in midair. Two rushed at his back while the other three pushed down from his chest, slamming him into the ground. Bones – both outside and inside – broken, he lay there trying to catch his breath. Along with his disease, the hyperventilation only made it worse. Soon he had no choice but to lay still.

_It's done, _Naruto told Kyuubi, feeling the orange chakra slowly draining from his system. The cloud of chakra disappeared from around him, and Kakashi leapt out of his tree.

"Good work, Naruto. I could tell that he could have posed a problem," the jonin nodded.

"Woah, kid. I though you were just Kakashi's genin," Pakkun nudged his leg.

"Long story," Naruto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, "I didn't want him to reach the second level of his curse seal, so I had to use it quickly."

"Now we'll just have to go in farther and see if Orochimaru will send anyone else after us," he brushed himself off and looked around, surveying the trees, "it'll take a while for Orochimaru to realize his man is dead, and we need to speed up the pro-"

Suddenly he looked towards Naruto and his one grey eye widened. The jonin reached forwards and grabbed the front of Naruto' jacket, using it as leverage to throw him upwards. With his other hand, he grabbed Pakkun and threw him as hard as he could into the sky. However, he was a little too late, as searing pain swept across Naruto's back.

"Dance…of the Seedling…Ferns!"

Behind them, hundreds of spikes made of bone began to erupt from the ground, covering every square meter of the forest. Naruto felt dizzy and held on to the arm Kakashi was holding him with, leaning forward slightly. The jonin, still in the air and holding Naruto by his shirt, used his position to flip around, looking down at the forest floor and its myriad of bones. He used his free hand to push up his hitai-ite, looking around with his Sharingan to quickly decide where to land. They were meters up in the air, and the maximum distance between bones was half a meter. If his aim was not perfect, he would impale them both. Decision made, he flipped his student in the air to grab both sides of his jacket, allowing them to fall in a straight line towards the ground.

They landed within centimeters of their target. One giant spike of bone rose up between Kakashi and Naruto, and they ended up safely hugging it as their feet touched the ground. Kakashi reached up to deftly catch Pakkun as the dog he had thrown came fumbling back down.

"Naruto!" Kakashi quickly walked around the bone to examine this student, "I'm sorry, I should have been a little faster." Pakkun took one look at the boy's blood-covered back and decided not voice his complaints on being thrown like a ball.

"Thanks…sensei" Naruto gasped, "I'll be fine, really," however his face still scrunched up in pain.

The jonin turned him over and examined the gash across his back, inflicted by a sharply rising bone, "you're losing blood."

"Kurama will help me heal quickly," Naruto explained, wincing a little.

"I'll bandage this quickly before we go one. Hopefully Shizune can speed up the process when we find her and Gai," Kakashi reached into his pack and drew out the long bandages present. While Naruto removed his jacket and lifted the back of his shirt, he unwound the long strips and began wrapping them around.

"Make them really tight. I'm not worried about them…but it'll be easier to fight if they don't hurt as much," Naruto instructed, biting his lip as his sensei began to pull the bandages tightly, "do you think Gaara and Jiraiya will be able too see the bones? I hope they didn't get hurt…these seem to extent for a good kilometer."

"They should be inside by now. Hopefully they've already found Orochimaru. Gai and Shizune should be inside as well," Kakashi reassured, "did you know he had this ability?"

"Maybe Gaara told me…but I didn't remember at the time. Gaara was the one who fought him before, along with Lee" Naruto straightened once the bandage was tied and slipped back into his jacket, frowning at the large tear in the back. After having lived by himself for most of his life, he knew the basics of sewing, but he had neither the patience nor the skill. Maybe if he asked Sasuke…then again, that question practically answered itself.

"Do you know of anyone powerful that could still be in there?" Kakashi asked, leaning against one of the bones, "just so that I can be prepared."

"I don't know. I think Orochimaru once planned to use Kimimaro as his new body, so he was probably the strongest," Naruto pondered, "the rest of the sound four are fairly weak. We had a hard time against them, but we were genin at the time. And at this point none of his humanoid prototypes are ready to fight."

"I'm not even sure what's happening anymore," Pakkun admitted.

Kakashi temporarily ignored the dog, "I see. Well, the rest should be easy, then. Let's go draw some more attention to ourselves," the white-haired jonin said happily, "we will have to head east to find Gai and Shizune first, though. You need medical attention, and we _do _have one of the very best at our disposal."

As they disappeared further into the forest of bones with Pakkun on their heels, a raspy cough sounded around three meters from where they had been standing. Kimimaro tried to move his broken, blood-covered body, but none of his muscles were responding to him, he could do nothing but lie there in silence, waiting for someone to come to him.

_I must…warn…Orochimaru-sama…_

ooooo

"So this is it, then, eh?" Jiraiya stood in front of the door, "it was almost…too easy."

"He was not expecting us," Gaara stated, red-stained sand flowing behind him, "and he is powerful enough to not need to worry so much about these things."

"That's true. Well, let's go see how my dear teammate is going," the toad sage started for the door. After travelling through long underground tunnels, they had finally come to what seemed like the most central room in the hideout. Gaara had used his sand to easily deal with the various oto-nin that had met them on their way. Most didn't have a chance to speak or use their curse seals before they were crushed in his bath of sand. Keeping the red sand reminded Gaara uncomfortably of his younger days, back when Shukaku had controlled him. He could not make any friends, but like any other human he had longed for human company, just the feeling of other humans around him. It had been a secret longing, but still strong. To fulfill it, he had crushed people to death, and had kept their blood in his sand, stored safely in his gourd. Luckily, Shukaku had assumed they were trophies of murder, and had not said anything against his disturbing habit.

"On three," Jiraiya leaned against the side of the door, hands prepared to form seals in case of any traps. Gaara waited on the other side. In three seconds, the toad sage burst through the door, hands ready in front. What greeted him was not at all what he had thought.

Orochimaru _had _been expecting them.

The snake sannin was seated in a chair in the middle of the small room. Around him were various desks and scrolls. However, he hadn't been reading them. When they entered the room, he was staring right at them.

"Kukuku…this is interesting…"

"You were expecting us?" Jiraiya asked sharply.

"No. I was actually expecting a student of your student. But no matter, this does not leave me any less perplexed…" Orochimaru smiled, his mouth stretching open at either end wider than should be possible.

"Kakashi-kun is outside. He's destroying your sound-nin," Jiraiya smirked, "and we're here to destroy you."

"My weakest teammate and a young boy. Facing me in my own home. I'm terrified," he leaned his chin on one hand, still smiling, "do tell, why have you decided to pay me this visit?"

"Insurance," Gaara said simply, raising his arm to allow his sand back in the tunnels to bash itself against the ceiling. Slowly, the sand grains of the surface began to leak through, joining the sand he carried.

"My my…he looks very similar to you. Is that your son, Jiraiya?" The pale man didn't even move, staring ahead at Gaara.

"Yes," Jiraiya responded simply.

"I would which member of the female gender you finally got within ten feet of…but instead I will ask who created that henge. It's very good quality work. Although it's not enough to fool me," the sannin chuckled, "who is he, really?"

"The future Kazekage," Gaara answered, feeling his sand reserves triple in size.

"Such a small boy with big dreams. Reminds me of someone…"

"Shut up Orochimaru!" Jiraiya yelled, putting his hands to the ground, "kuchiose!"

"Jiraiya-san that may not be the best id-" Gaara was interrupted by the slow rumbling that began to shake the building.

Even Orochimaru widened his eyes and stood up from his chair to move, as a large volume of chakra appeared in the room. However, the size of the place was too small for the summoning to happen properly. Instead, the walls began to collapse.

"You utter idiot!" The snake sannin yelled, quickly moving back as all three of them were squished into the receding walls. Gaara struggled to breathe as the chakra from the summons flooded the room that was now widening to incorporate the tunnels outside. However, there was still not enough space. Slowly, the ceiling began to fall down on their heads. Orochimaru wisely threw his arms up, and snakes began to flow from his skin to protect him from the rubble falling on their heads. Gaara quickly covered himself in his cocoon of sand. Jiraiya, not being close enough to incorporate himself into Gaara's technique, managed to yell out 'Hari Jizo' at the last moment, using the needles to shield himself from the rubble bearing down on him.

A minute later, the entirety of the room was demolished, along with quite a few tunnels. They stood outside in the morning light, the remains of the tunnels broken around them. Between them was a large toad, who was completely covered in splinters and rubble.

"I meant for that to happen," Jiraiya said smugly, brushing himself off and moving to stand proudly on top of Bunta, "now we can fight outside. With the light," looking around at the forest on top, he frowned when he noticed the white spikes of bone that were poking out of every free space, "er…what is that?"

Beneath him, the toad began to rumble, "Jiiraiiiyaaa! How dare you summon me in such a tiny space! I thought my lungs were going to burst!"

"I'm sorry, Bunta! But we're in a bad situation here and I need your help!" the toad sage coaxed, "remember Orochimaru? Pale creepy kid? We're fighting him."

The large toad looked over at the snake sannin who was standing, snakes waving in front, nearby. He spit a large piece of wood out of his mouth and removed his giant pipe, "you're going to owe me…"

"Yes, yes. Anything you like. Just…help me out, ok?" he whispered. His expression became more serious as he looked out across the forest of bone, "what happened here?"

"Those bones are the deathbed of your student's student," Orochimaru licked his lips, "I can't be bothered to remember his name."

"Naruto and Kakashi-san will be fine," Gaara told him softly, "don't worry about them. Naruto can handle it. Don't take your eyes off the enemy," he raised his arm and sent his renewed reserves to sand to rush towards Orochimaru, who had just bitten his thumb.

"Kuchiose!"

As his sand flew, it was intercepted by the appearance of a giant snake. Gaara considered trying to crush it, but drew the sand back instead, understanding that it had been summoned simply to deal with Jiraiya's Gamabunta.

"You still like to let things escalate fast, don't you, Jiraiya," Orochimaru smirked, "it won't be as easy to take me down as you seem to think it is. But I do have a question."

"I have no answers for _you, _Orochimaru," Jiraiya stated, prepared to enter his Sage mode if he needed to.

"Why now? Why didn't you decide to act later?"

"You are planning to kill the Kazekage," Gaara said loudly, "we will stop you before then."

Orochimaru frowned, "I am? How ever did you come to that conclusion? I have nothing against the man you seem to wish to usurp," the snake sannin raised an eyebrow, "where are you getting your information from?"

Jiraiya turned to Gaara, who frowned. The chunin exams were in five months; perhaps Orochimaru still had not come up with his plan…in which case they really _did _seem to be attacking him out of the blue. Guessing his train of thought, the toad sage turned back to his former teammate and pointed an accusing finger.

"We don't need a reason to kick your sorry ass! Your vile experiments have gone on long enough!" He yelled, "Bunta, go!"

The large toad spluttered, but obeyed. He raised his giant tanto and made for the snake's head with an attempt at looking determined. Truthfully, he looked like he had been summoned in the middle of a bath. Jiraiya leapt off and headed for Orochimaru.

"You fool? You really think you can barge in, destroy my workroom, and manage to take me out?" Orochimaru's agitated was finally morphing into real anger, "you've never been stronger than me!"

"You will find that I make up for the supposed gap between your strengths," Gaara explained, sending a barrage of sand to catch the snakes, "Sabaku Sousou!"

Half of the snakes fell victim to the sand, hissing in pain as it crushed their thin bodies. The other half managed to avoid it by rushing safely back into Orochimaru's shirt. Gaara frowned. It was clear that if the snakes of the sannin's White Snake technique got into his sand, they would die. However, they were slippery enough to be able to wriggle out of the way. He called his sand back and decided to remain on defense as he had planned. Orochimaru ignored the sand and brought both hands together just as Manda managed to avoid Gamabunta's swipe.

"Fuuton: Daitoppa!"

A large gust of wind came flying towards Jiraiya, who quickly brought up his Hari Jizo. When he brought the needles back, it was to see Orochimaru reaching to his own mouth. Slowly, a white snake emerged from his throat and hissed, sticking out its forked tongue. From the inside of the snake's mouth came the hilt of a sword. The snake sannin drew the blade out and rushed at Jiraiya, who had just withdrawn his Hari Jizo and stood with his arms on either side of him, hands fisted.

Orochimaru lunged at him with the Sword of Kusanagi held two handed, aiming for his chest. Jiraiya dropped low at the last moment and fisted his hand, pushing it up towards his stomach. Seeing the hand, the other sannin twisted his body beyond what his bones should have been able to allow, missing the fist by centimeters and throwing his feet upwards to lunge back with Kusanagi. Jiraiya jumped back and held both fists ready, watching his former teammate carefully.

"What is this? You've only used one decent jutsu so far! What happened to mastering all the ninjutsu in the world?" He yelled, going in with a spinning ball of blue chakra in his hand. Orochimaru leaned to one side to avoid the rasengan and swept back with Kusanagi, barely missing Jiraiya's side.

"I don't need anything like that to defeat you, Jiraiya. There's no need to waste too much energy on you," despite his words, the snake sannin was just beginning to sweat. He brought the sword back up, switching to a one handed stance. Suddenly, the blade extended, heading towards the toad sage with a frightening speed.

Jiraiya prepared to move out of the way, but he was saved by a cloud of sand that stopped the blow. Nearby, Gaara frowned. For some reason, the blade was still pushing against…his eyes widened as it slowly penetrated the sand. By the time it was through, Jiraiya was safely out of harm's way, but it shocked him that anything could get through his Ultimate Defense.

"Kukuku…it seems that you're quite skilled with that sand, boy," Orochimaru sneered, white teeth showing as he gripped Kusanagi harder, "but there is nothing that the Kusanagi Blade cannot cut!" The extended blade turned and headed directly for him. Gaara narrowed his eyes and moved quickly out of the way. When he turned to look back at his opponent, he felt a swift breeze of air behind him.

Orochimaru laughed as Kusanagi retreated, heading directly for Gaara's unprotected side on the way. The blade whizzed through the air; the only thing that was faster than the speed at which Kusanagi extended was the speed at which it retreated. The smirk died off his face as the sharp edge was met by solid sand.

Gaara brought his hand back down, turning to eye the blade as it slowly cut through the sand. It seemed that although his sand could not stop it, it could slow it down. In this struggle of speed, the two were almost the same. He brought his hand down and moved out of the way as Kusanagi retreated to its original length. He turned to see that the snake sannin glaring at him through his dark hair, white snakes hissing out of his sleeves. Orochimaru was watching him…almost assessing him. The eyes lined with purple were boring into him for just a few seconds…until Jiraiya rushed back in with both fists.

"Your taijutsu is not match for Kusanagi, Ji-rai-ya," Orochimaru taunted, nimbly swinging his sword in an arc that tore though some of his haori. Jiraiya grinned, and caught Orochimaru's sword hand in his fist, allowing Kusanagi to slice a shallow cut into his side. He tightened his fist around his former teammate's hand and squeezed, a wide grin spreading across his face.

"What are you-"

"Hari Jizo!" Jiraiya yelled, letting go of his hand as the barrier of needles came up around him. Orochimaru was too close to leap back, and could only watch as his snakes came up out of his sleeves to save him from the myriad of needles. They twisted around until they formed a shield between him and the barrier of needles, but some of the needles still managed to pierce through and embed themselves shallowly into Orochimaru's chest and legs. The snake sannin clenched his teeth and leapt back, long black hair flying. He landed a few meters away and watched as some of the dead snakes fell out of the cloth completely, landing at his feet. He reached down to pull the needles out of his skin, barely wincing as they easily slipped out.

"Not so bad, eh, Orochimaru?" Jiraiya grinned widely and threw one palm forward, posing as his white hair flew behind him, "what'dya think now?" Gaara couldn't help but mentally sigh at his combat partner's occasional childishness.

Orochimaru clenched his teeth harder and seemed to reluctantly bring his hands together, "Katon: Housenka no jutsu!"

The myriad of fire strikes left his mouth as he blew them into Jiraiya's path. Seeing this, the toad sage seemed to figure that he'd fight fire with fire. He signaled to Gamabunta, who jumped away from Manda to stand next to him and spew what seemed like oil out of his mouth.

"Katon: Gamayu Endan!" Jiraiya spewed the fire to meet Orochimaru's attack. Bunta's oil caused the fire to grow in size until it overpowered the Housenka, causing the fire attack to recede towards the owner. Gaara shielded his eyes against the brightness with his hands and allowed his sand to cocoon him.

Once the blinding light seemed to have disappeared, he opened his eyes carefully. Meters away, the giant snake Manda seemed to have curled himself around his master, shielding Orochimaru from the majority of the fire. When the last ashes had fallen, he dismissed himself in a small cloud of chakra to lick his wounds. In the middle of the cloud stood the snake sannin, panting as hard as Jiraiya and looking forward with hair falling over his face, completely enraged. His shirt had been burnt off, revealing a pale, lanky chest streaked with superficial burns, and his pants were still riddled with a few needles.

"I'm not the weakest anymore!" Jiraiya stated, "and Tsunade-hime could kick your ass too if she was here! But really, two mid-level jutsu in the entire battle? Is there something wrong, Oro-chi-ma-ru?""

The pale man didn't answer. Instead, he began to slowly melt into the ground, never removing his eyes from Jiraiya's the entire time. Before he disappeared, he shot one last glance at Gaara, who stared back impassively.

"Oi! Don't run away you coward! We're going to bring you back to Konoha for questioning! Bunta, dig him up, I know he can fight better than that! I need to be able to brag to Tsunade-hime! We're going to have a battle of epic proportions, dammit!"

The giant toad sighed a worldly sigh and took out the giant tanto that was still partially covered with some snake-blood. Ignoring the cuts and bites Manda had made on his own body, he leapt over and stuck the blade into the ground, lifting it up to part a large portion of earth. Orochimaru was nowhere to be found.

"No use, Jiraiya. He's run away. Thanks for ruining a perfect good Monday. Now I have to go get all these splinters out of my skin…" Bunta dismissed himself, disappearing in a puff of chakra.

Gaara ignored the toad sage's pouting and watched the space where Orochimaru had disappeared curiously.

"Gaara, do you have any idea why he left?" Jiraiya said, slipping back into his calmer mode, "it's not like him to abandon a fight against me."

"I think he was at his weakening point," the white-haired boy commented, "after all, he is searching for a new body to inhabit. That may well be the extent of his abilities at the moment," he paused, still in thought, "although it disturbs me that he managed to escape. Naruto will not be pleased."

"Well the kid can learn to suck it up, because I'm even more displeased," Jiraiya stated, "but…why him in particular? I remember you mentioned that it was him who convinced you to plan this attack."

"The new body that Orochimaru has chosen to inhabit belongs to Uchiha Sasuke, Naruto's teammate and best friend," he said simply. At this point, he decided to let Naruto decide if Jiraiya needed to know any more.

"Ah…poor kid. Because of the Sharingan, I suppose. I heard rumors that he was after Uchiha Itachi back when he was a member of the Akatsuki," Jiraiya nodded in understanding, "but he doesn't need to worry. Kakashi-kun and I won't let the snake-faced bastard get within miles of the younger Uchiha boy."

"I think we should locate Kakashi or Shizune. If Orochimaru is still in the region, Pakkun or Tonton should be able to sniff him out," Gaara decided, "after seeing their master flee, I doubt any of the sound-nin will be willing to fight us."

With that, they set out trying to find a way back into the collapsed tunnels.

ooooo

"Ninpou: Doku Kiri!"

Shizune put her fingers to her mouth and streamlined the poison gas that she blew in Yoroi's face. Even as the older man cringed and breathed the poison deeply, she felt her chakra reserves dwindle to a pitiful low. Yoroi had found her hiding spot and had approached her from behind. She had made the mistake of trying to punch him, and he had grabbed her hand. As his skin made contact, she had immediately started to feel light headed after he seemed to drain her chakra.

Realizing that she was _not _going to be useless and _not _going to wait for Gai-san to come save her, she had closed her eyes and pretended to faint from chakra loss. The moment he let go of her hand, she had dragged out as much of the meager chakra that was left as she could, and trapped him within the poison gas. Panting from chakra exhaustion, she observed his still form on the ground in front of her. With the poison acting, he would be dead in minutes.

"Arrgh!" She heard a yell nearby. Turning, she saw the red-haired girl growling at Gai, who was holding her silver flute.

"So this really is your weapon? Curious, but I am not one to underestimate. It is rather solid after all. Maybe if you used it to hit someone on the head hard enough they'd black out" he stated, turning the instrument over in his hand and then looking up at her as if he was considering testing his theory.

"I don't hit people with it! I play it!" Tayuya yelled. However, she knew that she was outmatched. As a member of the Sound Four, she was easily lower-jonin level even though she was young, but she could not fight without her flute. Glaring, she quickly retreated out the door. Gai made no move to go after her. He stood there with his generous eyebrows narrowed in confusion and the silver flute still in one hand.

"Well, that might have been one of the strangest fights I have ever participated in," he commented.

Shizune figured it probably was. After all, it had pretty much been a tug of war between Gai and Tayuya with the flute in the middle, and Gai physically dwarfed the small teen girl.

"We should keep moving," he finally decided, "although she was most unyouthful, she doesn't seem to be a threat without this curious flute," he snapped it and threw the pieces down.

Shizune nodded and followed him out the doorway, catching Tonton as he leapt into her arms. She gave the pig a small hug, remembering how he had been preparing with determined eyes to leap onto Yoroi to save her.

They ran west through the tunnels to Naruto and Kakashi's general location. As they went, they heard and felt giant rumbles shake the tunnels, causing pieces of the ceiling to fall on their heads. For some reason, the entire way was curiously devoid of oto-nin.

"Jiraiya-san and Gaara-san have probably found Orochimaru," Gai commented, picking a wooden splinter out of his shiny hair, "I hope they will do well. Jiraiya-san is ever youthful despite his old age, and the other boy seemed powerful."

"They are both strong," Shizune agreed, "we do not need to worry for them," she pushed herself to run faster to match Gai's speed, although she knew he was slowing down for her.

"So, you use poisons in battle?" He commented, his voice perfectly steady despite his speed.

"Yes. My main weapons are poisoned senbon. I keep them in my mouth during battle, since I am immune to most poisons. Then, if needed, I can use a simple futon technique to dislodge the poison and send it out as a gas," she explained, panting.

"It seemed rather effective back there. What is your rank?" He asked lightly, if only to keep them from worrying about the rumbling ahead.

"C-rank jonin," she reported, "I have higher jonin level iryou-ninjutsu and higher chunin level combat skills." Compared to Gai, that didn't feel like much. However, it gave her a little confidence to say it.

"You are a most youthful partner indeed!" Gai exclaimed, breaking out into his signature smile.

"Gai! Is that you?!" A voice sounded ahead. Shizune stopped running as the other jonin paused, waiting for the voice to approach. When it got close enough, she sighed in relief as she saw Kakashi running towards them.

"Kakashi-san! Narut-" She paused when she saw a dark haired boy running beside Kakashi, but then relaxed when she realized that it was probably his henge. Gai-san still didn't know about Naruto, after all.

"Shizune-san! I'm so glad you're here-" Naruto frowned as Kakashi put one hand out, stopping him from going any farther. Kakashi's smallest dog, Pakkun, stood beside him.

"Wait. There are experts of disguise under Orochimaru's command. Gai, what was the word I said to you the fifth time you challenged me to a spar?" For some reason, the jonin's one revealed eye was sparkling with humor.

"Oi! I was thirteen!" Gai exclaimed.

"Word?"

"I'm not like that anymore! This is most unyouthful of you!"

"You're only making it worse for yourself, Gai," Kakashi grinned under the mask, "word, or I'll assume you're an enemy."

"…acorn," the older jonin muttered, going bright red, "now I believe we should be going to help-"

His words were cut off by Naruto's burst of laughter once he realized what they had meant. Beside him, the white-haired jonin smirked and waited for him to finish his bout of laughter.

"You two agreed on a keyword?" Shizune asked innocently, looking from Kakashi to Gai.

"Mou…something like that," Kakashi said lightly. He turned to Naruto, "I think you should stop laughing, Naru-kun..."

"Exactly!" Gai exclaimed indignantly.

"-because otherwise you'll injure your back even more," he finished.

Shizune's eyes widened, "are you hurt?"

"He has a cut across his back," Kakashi reported, pushing the boy forward, "and I think I might have made it worse by bandaging it too tightly."

"Lay down on your front," Shizune instructed, green chakra coating her hands as she used her replenishing chakra with Shousen. As Naruto laid down in front of her, she moved her hands over the bandaged skin, deciding to coax the wound to knit together before she removed the bandages. A small sheen of sweat coated her forehead as she made do with whatever chakra had returned since Yoroi had drained her. Pakkun settled near her heels with Tonton and watched curiously.

"Shizune-san is very helpful!" Gai exclaimed, watching her work. He proudly showed off his bandaged arm to Kakashi.

"Give it up Gai," Kakashi said cheerfully, one eye crinkling with his smile, "she's far too young for you."

"What do you mean 'too young'?! I am in the prime of my youth!" Gai yelled.

"Is this conversation necessary?" Naruto yelled, feeling the pain in his back escalate, "can we let her fix me first?" He winced as the muscles began to shift into their proper positions, realizing that the tightness of Kakashi's bandaging had caused him to loose most of the feeling in the area. Now it was all coming back at once.

Shizune mentally thanked the boy and swallowed all the protests that had been on the tip of her tongue, "there. Leave the bandages on, but it should be fine."

"Thanks, Shizune-san!" Naruto exclaimed. He turned to see Gai giving him a bright smile.

"So, 'Naru', is it? You must be Kakashi's combat partner, is it a pleasure to make your youthful acquaintance!" He gave him a thumbs-up and a bright smile, "I am Maito Gai, Konoha's Noble Green Beast!"

Naruto frowned, before remembering his henge. Naru…he mentally thanked Kakashi for the nickname. Gai was probably one of the only people dim enough in social situations to make this work.

"Yes. My name is Naru. Nice to meet you too, Gai-san!" Naruto said happily, returning his nice guy pose. He pushed brown hair behind one ear before turning to look at Kakashi, "I think we should go provide backup for Gaara and Ero-sennin."

"Actually, the fighting seems to have stopped," Kakashi commented, "I can't feel any more of the rumbles that Bunta makes."

"Then let's go see what happened, and if they need medical attention," Shizune suggested, gaining confidence. Everyone nodded, and she followed them through the tunnels once more, this time in the directions they had felt the quakes coming from.

Their way was, again, curiously devoid of oto-nin. Shizune fell into step beside Naruto in his henge, who was running a little more slowly due to his injury. This was not the ideal time for after-treatment patient care, but Tsunade had drilled these things into her. They followed the two older jonin as they rushed ahead, and Pakkun brought up the rear.

Soon, they came to a portion of the tunnels that was completely blocked. That in itself was an indication that they were headed the right way. Gai took one look at it an instructed everyone to stand back. When they were out of the way, he took down the rocks blocking their way with one punch, creating a hole all the way though. From the other side, sunlight shone through.

Shizune followed Naruto up out of the exit Gai had made to see that an entire section of the tunnels had been collapsed. Despite her confidence in her shishou's teammate, she felt the beginnings of worry stirring inside.

_Jiraiya-sama, please be ok…_

They followed Kakashi and Gai up to see what looked like large white spikes poking out of the ground for a good kilometer. Shizune gasped at the change; before, it had all been a forest, filled with trees. She began to worry that it was Orochimaru's doing.

"Don't mind the bones," Naruto said from behind her, "they were the bloodline limit of one of Orochimaru's oto-nin. We defeated him."

She nodded thankfully, and squinted to ahead of the bones, following the older jonins' lead. Soon, they came to a large portion where the ground filled with bone spikes had been almost pushed away, leaving a large crater in the ground. Standing in the centre of the crater were Gaara and Jiraiya. They seemed to be unharmed.

"Ero-sennin!" Naruto rushed towards them, "Gaara! What happened?"

She caught up with him and frowned at the bloodstains on the toad sage's haori. Jiraiya was not answering Naruto's question. Instead, he was looking quite a bit embarrassed.

"He ran," Gaara stated impassively, "we don't know where he is. Can Tonton or Pakkun track his Orochimaru's scent?" he walked over to Shizune and held up a piece of bloodied cloth he had been clutching in one hand.

"Buhi buhi buhi," Tonton snorted sadly, after leaning forward to sniff the cloth.

"He must have went underground," Shizune translated, "because Tonton thinks his scent ends right over there," she pointed to a nearby crater in the ground.

"The pig is right," Pakkun agreed, standing on his back feet to sniff the cloth with one paw against Shizune's dress for support, "I can't catch his scent. Kakashi, you have a lot of explaining to do."

For some reason, all three of them turned to stare at Naruto.

"It's…ok. We can always find him and shred him to pieces later, right?" The dark-haired boy replied cheerfully, rubbing the back of his henge' head. However, everyone could tell that he was unsettled. It was something about the dim look in his eyes, and the stiff way he was holding himself up that had nothing to do with his injury.

"I'll have every contact I know looking out for him," Jiraiya promised, "he won't get within two villages of Sasuke-kun."

"Thanks, Ero-sennin," Naruto smiled sadly, looking pensively at his feet.

"Shizune-san, Gai-san," Gaara began, "how is Kabuto? Did you find him?"

"I apologize, Gaara-san," Gai reported mournfully, "we seemed to have allowed him to kill himself before we could capture him and bring him back. Yakushi Kabuto is dead."

"And t-that's a good thing," Shizune stated, trying to win back at least some of their team dignity while Gai was busy demeaning them.

At that, Naruto felt a large weight come off his shoulders. At least something had been accomplished from this mission. Ever since discovering that Kabuto had been _that _spy, something had felt _off _about the traitor.

"Good work. We did not necessarily need him alive. It is fine that he is dead," Gaara decided, "the four of you are now free to return to Konoha. Jiraiya and I will send our next letter sometime soon," he purposely didn't give away what they were doing due to Gai's presence.

ooooo

Long after the group had disappeared, Orochimaru dragged himself out of the earth where he had buried himself deeply enough to avoid Bunta's tanto. He knew perfectly well that Hatake Kakashi was a tracker; it would have been foolish to attempt to run. His only chance had been inside the ground, which was so dense with smells that even the best trackers couldn't separate.

He stood up slowly, wincing at the fact that his shirt was beyond repair and his almost-shredded pants were the only clothing on him that hadn't been burned away. Biting his lip, he looked around to survey the area.

A portion of the ground that had been filled with Kimimaro's lovely bone spikes had been almost leveled due to Manda and Gamabunta's fight. If only he hadn't summoned that blasted toad...

But there was no one around. That was good. Orochimaru tried to push down the feelings of shame for having run away from his weakest teammate. It had been necessary. After experimenting so often with the partial body transfer technique, he had slowly grown weaker. He was still a powerful member of the Sannin, but he seemed to have slowly receded below Jiraiya's level. It hadn't worried him at the time since he was close to gaining a new body and had many backups available to switch into any time. He hadn't expected that _fool _to come rushing in to ruin everything, thinking he was attempting to take over _Suna _of all places. Maybe he would have still won if that strange sand-user hadn't been around to protect Jiraiya's blind spots.

He slowly took one step, and then another. Staying underground for over five hours while using a futon jutsu to breath had taken a lot out of him; the constant flow of chakra alone was enough to drain. His hair hung in strands around his face as he slowly made his way across the leveled ground. There was an entrance back into the headquarters around half a kilometer to the west. He would head there, and make his way to his other workroom to recover and find some clothes. The rest of the headquarters was mostly useless – and the oto-nin had probably gone as far away as they could manage – but he could always build a new hideout, and tempt more people to join him. Orochimaru gritted his teeth as he reached the edge of the bone-clearing. Kimimaro's bones – beautiful as they looked from afar – were going to be difficult to navigate through. He hoped against hope that he would find Hatake Kakashi's bloodied body impales on one. That might just make the situation seem a little better.

As he pushed his way around the first bone, he heard a small cough. He stilled himself. The cough came again.

"Who's there?" he rasped, his voice sounded even harsher than usual due to his hours he had spent breathing underground.

"Oro-chi-ma," the voice managed before it coughed again. The snake sannin forgot his tiredness and depleted chakra. He put himself on full guard and made his way towards the cough.

When he had slid around two bone spikes, the sight he saw made his eyes widen just the slightest bit. On the ground in front of him, surrounded by bones, was Kaguya Kimimaro, his original prize. The boy was in horrible shape, to say the least. His robe was shredded to pieces by the bones he used to fight, and one hand was covered in blood – something Orochimaru had never seen on him before. His legs were stretched out as he lay on his stomach, desperately trying to lift his head and look up at his master. Orochimaru surveyed him carefully. The boy's legs were beyond saving, and one hand was probably too far gone. He would never be able to fight again. It was a real pity, but his weapon had become useless. Feeling a strange pang inside as he looked at the boy he had rescued and brought up to be such a fearsome weapon, Orochimaru turned to leave.

"Orochi…maru…sama. Those two….they were….name…it" he struggled, tears welling up as he pushed his poor vocal chords beyond what they should have been able to do.

At this, the snake sannin looked back, raising his eyebrows. Kimimaro seemed to still have something to say. He paused to think. It really wouldn't be so painful to take him back. His chakra was slowly returning, and it no longer hurt to walk. If Kabuto was still alive, he would make him fix the boy as best as he could. If not, well, Orochimaru was confident that he could at least keep him alive for a few hours. At least until the boy had said all that he seemed to know.

Making the decision, he approached Kimimaro with a smile, leaning down to gently push the boy onto his back while holding his head so his neck wasn't harmed. Once he had steadied him, he slipped his hands underneath the boy's body and lifted, ignoring the small whimper of pain.

"Stay silent, Kimimaro. I will fix you," he promised falsely. The boy seemed to lean into him and sigh softly. In his eyes, at least, everything would be ok.

He and his broken weapon slowly made their way across the field of bone. The entire time, he was planning. After he had gotten what he needed from Kimimaro, he would abandon these headquarters – he had another a few villages away that was operated by one of his 'researchers' – and pay a visit to an old friend. He needed a new body.

ooooo

The way back to Konoha was mostly silent, and they travelled for the entire day, stopping only for a quick lunch on ration bars. In the evening, Kakashi and Gai bantered and competed on who could hold their breath for longer while jumping though the trees – which caused Gai to turn blue and Kakashi to cheat because of his mask – while Shizune quietly held Tonton and thought fondly of the easy old days with Tsunade-sama and Naruto poked the Kyuubi awake.

_I already told you, brat. Time is resilient. There's a reason the world after the time seal is usually so far distorted that it's barely recognizable. Nothing is impossible, but it takes a lot of effort to change these things, _Kurama explained.

_But…_

_Don't lose hope so quickly. You've already changed the time stream quite a bit, this is just one small loss that doesn't really have much to do with the trigger. _

_But it has everything to do with Sasuke! And he's my friend and I won't let him go ever again!_

Kurama sighed, _fine. Go ahead and try your best. As long as you take down the trigger it doesn't matter to me._

_Oh come on you big fur ball, I'm started to on you and you know it. I'm probably the best Jinchuuriki you've ever had, _Naruto mentally retorted, feeling a little relieved at the fact that saving Sasuke wasn't impossible. If it wasn't impossible, then he didn't give a damn how improbable it was because he was going to do it.

_I liked Uzumaki Mito, _Kurama grumbled, _she left me the hell alone. Look up, young human. Your sensei is calling you._

Naruto simply smiled at the realization that Kurama had called him 'young human' instead of 'brat'. He was really moving up in life.

**ooooo**

**Also, I think Orochimaru was killed a little too early in the canon. I think this mainly because I miss hearing his epic theme song ^_^ But more seriously, although he was at a weak point while hunting Sasuke, he's one of the Sannin, and is therefore extremely powerful.**


	12. Anko's Determination & Tsunade's Plan

**Chapter 12 – Mitarashi Anko's Determination & Tsunade's Strategy**

Having separated from the group early on to head back to Konoha himself without Gai knowing – they had all patiently waved goodbye as 'Naru' left for his small home village at the outskirts of Fire Country – Naruto was dressed in a clean, blood-stain-less white shirt while his orange jumpsuit jacket sat in his room for repairs, and was waiting by the door of Kakashi's apartment. After dispelling the clone and realizing exactly what had happened in Konoha while he had been away, he figured that he would go out and settle things with Neji eventually.

But for now he didn't want to think about that particular incident. After all, he _had _been horribly sick for the entire week and had spoken to Sakura in a nasal voice with tissues stuck up his nose when she had come to see him to demand where their sensei had gone. After hearing that his cold was contagious, both teammates had wisely kept their distance.

The moment the doorknob turned late that evening, Naruto was rushing to pose in front of the entrance, hands on his hips.

"WELCOME BACK, KAKASHI-SENSEI!" He yelled loudly when Kakashi opened the door. Some of the neighbors looked on curiously, and behind the masked jonin, Gai gave him a bright smile and Shizune waved happily with Tonton's little hoof. The loudness was partly to gain alibis.

"How wonderful it is to see such youthful energy! You must join our post-mission celebration!" Gai declared, eyes shining brightly at the young genin.

"Yo," Pakkun greeted, walking into the apartment and making himself comfortable on the couch.

Kakashi, not having had anyone welcome him home in around twenty-five years, settled for looking slightly embarrassed and rubbing the back of his head.

"Post-mission celebration?" Shizune asked, "I thought we technically failed."

"_We _succeeded, Shizune-san. _Jiraiya _failed," Kakashi pointed out. He didn't have any more interest than she did in Gai's celebrations, but he decided it wouldn't be right if the young medic thought that Kakashi of the Sharingan _failed _a mission.

"Yosh! Now that even Kakashi has agreed, it is settled!" Gai proclaimed loudly. He rushed out of the door and leapt off the balcony, probably heading for his own apartment to retrieve celebration-essentials.

"Um…may I come in?" Shizune asked politely, still standing slightly awkwardly in the entrance.

"Make yourself at home!" Naruto grabbed a sleeve and pulled her in before Kakashi had the chance to agree just as politely. She smiled at the blond genin and sat down on the couch next to him. The small pig leapt out of her arms to greet him.

"Tonton!" Naruto exclaimed happily, rubbing the pig's head.

"Buhi," Tonton replied, communicating her general approval.

"Have you found a room at an inn to stay in, Shizune?" The white-haired jonin asked, seating himself on the table as they waited for Gai to return.

"No…I came to see you directly after coming back to Konoha. Jiraiya and Gaara made it seem very urgent," she explained.

"Mou…I suppose you will be staying as well, then. You can have Naruto's room, and he and Gai can have the floor," Kakashi decided. Naruto looked rather surprised at how nonchalant he was about it. Only a month ago, his sensei had still been the man who he remembered from the future. The one who practically lived at the memorial and went there before and after training to mumble his student's progress into his dead friend's carved-out name.

That Kakashi would have never allowed people to enter his apartment to easily – except Gai, but only because it was even more troublesome to stop him. It surprised him that his sensei had opened up enough to allow people to enter a little farther into his personal space. Naruto's supreme orange-ness and general enthusiasm towards life had done his sensei more good than he had thought. Sasuke had the right idea in forcing him out of the past.

"Yosh! I have brought sake, because my Eternal Rival Kakashi is too Cool and Hip to store it in his own place!" Gai announced, entering with a white bottle held in his hands and sake cups balanced on top of it.

Shizune watched him run over to set them on the table. These two weren't exactly her perfect drinking group…but after all, one was her shishou's teammate's trusted student and the other had spent his day protecting her from oto-nin. The third was a little kid who her Jiraiya-sama seemed very fond of, and he was growing on her as well. She clapped and smiled. Being around Tsunade for ten years meant that she had developed some sort of taste for sake. It was hard not to.

"Do I get some too?" Naruto asked happily, jumping up in his seat. He quickly learned that it was much easier to settle back into his 'little kid' persona than he realized. It had something to do with the fact that although he had matured, there was still a part of him that was dying to play a good prank.

"No, I'm afraid not," Kakashi stated, "or Sandaime-sama will come after me," he accepted the cup he was offered and somehow sipped though his mask.

"Eww…"

"My mask is perfectly hygienic, Naruto," he replied to the disgust in a patronizing voice.

"I'm sure. Especially since you spent the day killing oto-nin. I bet their blood is all over it," Naruto remarked.

"Then I shall – literally – drink the blood of my enemies," Kakashi stated, finishing the rest of the cup, "hmm…that does taste a bit metallic…"

"That's gross!" the blond boy yelled. Despite that, he smiled a little. He didn't know exactly what he had changed, or exactly when it had been done, but somehow he had managed to turn someone's life for the better.

ooooo

"Oro…chi…maru…sama…"

"You're as stable as possible now, Kimimaro. You may speak," the snake sannin told him. After dragging him back into a room that was mostly not collapsed, he had placed the boy on one of the desks and used his meager knowledge of Shousen to heal the boy's throat. Although, with his knowledge of the technique it was more likely that the boy's insides were now a haphazard mix of flesh. Kimimaro had thirty minutes at most; it was no use trying to heal the rest of him if he was going to die before he could convey information.

Kimimaro lay still on the wooden desk, eyes not leaving the snake sannin's for more than a second.

"Uzumaki…Naruto…name…"

"The other boy with Hatake Kakashi was named Uzumaki Naruto?" Orochimaru guessed, tapping his fingers impatiently on the desk.

"ge-nin…"

"He was a genin?"

"Ku..rama…heal."

"Someone named Kurama can heal?" At this point Orochimaru was beginning to lose his patience. He was simply guessing, and the only slightly interesting thing so far was that there had been a boy from the Uzumaki clan with the Copy-nin.

"Shizune…Gai…Konoha…inside."

Well that, at least, was fairly obvious. Two more people had helped them infiltrate the place, and their names were Gai and Shizune. He could always ask Kabuto to do some research on them while he was inside Konoha.

"Th…ank…you…oro…chi..m."

Slowly, Kimimaro's eyes began to close. Orochimaru sighed; it didn't seem like he had any other information. He left the dying boy on the desk and exited the room to head to the main laboratories. They were still in the end that hadn't been completely destructed by Jiraiya's stupid toad, so his medic was probably still alive, even if he passed the unconscious bodies of dozens of oto-nin on the way. Orochimaru knew him well enough to guess that Kabuto had probably hidden himself at the first sound of danger.

The snake Sannin arrived in the laboratory to find Yakushi Kabuto dead on the floor; blood slowly pouring out of his mouth.

ooooo

Mitarishi Anko was not a very popular girl. In fact, she was decidedly _un_popular. That was why it was a weekend night and she was sitting at her dining table alone, a paper bag of take-out next to her and an empty dango stick in one hand.

She flung the stick to one side, finishing the Konoha symbol. She didn't even need to look to know that it had landed perfectly. Now if only she could get that sort of absolute aim with her kunai…then maybe she could challenge that Asuma guy to a spar. Although…Anko sighed, it seemed that she was a little too late. It was obvious to anyone with eyes that he was with that pretty genjutsu user Yuuhi Kurenai. There went her chance of getting someone who could drag her out of her messy social position.

She sighed, and then pinched herself. She was not going to turn into some lame-ass pansy and feel sorry for herself. She didn't need them. For the past ten years she had tried to integrate herself seamlessly back into life in Konoha, but it was a lost cause. She was still going to end up with nowhere but home to go on her Saturday nights, and no one to drag her ass back if she went by herself and visited some of the good places. The only times she got to go was during large jonin parties, and only because it was a courtesy invite.

Truth was, people were perfectly appreciative of her contribution to Konoha, but no one was actually crazy enough to spend too much time with her. They all muttered about how she had picked up so many of _his _twisted character.

Instead, she looked up towards the target she had embedded in the wall, with it's various nicks and scratches around the bull-eye. Sometimes she put pictures of people up on the board so that she had an actual target. It was never anyone she truly hated because there was only one person like that, and throwing kunai at _his _picture didn't feel right.

Slowly, she pulled a picture from the pile nearby. It was a picture of a guy who had newly been made a chunin, and had been put on a VIP guarding mission with her. When they had been ambushed, he had blatantly refused to obey her orders to fight the hunters, instead taking the VIP and running the opposite way. Anko had cursed him as loudly as her vocal chords could go and held off all the attackers herself, almost going berserk on them simply to keep them from following her stupid teammate and their stupid VIP. She couldn't even expect to be treated seriously if she complained about the guy. Yeah, he definitely deserved a turn on the bulls-eye.

The first kunai landed right in the middle, and stayed embedded. She looked at the distance from where she was to where the target was, and sighed. Nope, too lazy to retrieve it. That was her practice for the day.

She looked out at the sky, which was darkening slowly, and allowed her head to fall into her crossed arms and succumb to tiredness. Just when she was about to fall asleep, the doorbell rang.

Anko sat up straight, slightly alarmed. Why on earth would someone be ringing _her _doorbell? She almost ran out of the kitchen into the hall, and then to the front door, throwing it open.

The stranger outside was a man her age with brown hair and green eyes. He gave her a half-smile from where he was standing. She managed to mirror a polite smile and say hello.

"Mitarashi Anko?" He asked in a raspy voice. Anko's eyes widened.

The picture her eyes were giving her was very different from the ones her ears received. She could do nothing but stand still, rooted in place. The man standing outside her door slowly revealed his henge, giving her a hint of purple-lined eyes.

Before she could say anything, he moved her aside by her shoulder and made his way inside. Anko remained at the door, still staring outside into the night sky where his face had previously been.

"Kukuku…you seem so surprised," the man laughed and came to retrieve her from her doorway, pulling her with him to the small sitting room, "well, it has been a while, after all." He deposited her on the couch and sat in front of her.

Slowly, the henge unraveled and she couldn't do anything but stand stock still as Orochimaru watched her, humor glinting in his eyes. Piece by piece, the shock turned to anger. One hand slowly reached into her pouch and brought out a kunai.

"No need for that," he stated, "I'm only here to talk. I know your abilities far too well for them to have any use against me."

That was a valid point. She gritted her teeth, but kept the kunai raised.

"Why should I listen to someone who abandoned me and left Konoha?" She asked menacingly.

He ignored her question. Instead, he seemed like he was…_surveying _her. His eyes settled on the strong arms, and the slightly stocky but powerful legs. She clenched her teeth even harder.

"How much have you improved over the years? Is your taijutsu better? Still generally healthy?" He asked softly, "I just came by to see how my old student was doing."

"Why should I answer, _sensei_?"

Orochimaru seemed to sigh a long sigh, "I know you think I abandoned you, but I didn't."

"Yes you did! You left me there on that island and became a missing-nin! Don't try to deny it!"

"I also removed a portion of your memory, Anko," he added, "and I'll tell you what you forgot. You were the only one who had survived my curse seal. That meant you were special. Compatible. So I offered you a choice," he smirked, "I told you that you could come with me and become my right hand. In return, I would give you power beyond imagination. Unfortunately, despite how much you wanted to come with me, it didn't seem like you were thinking straight at the time, and you refused."

All at one, memories began to flood her. Anko almost dropped to the floor in shock as she held her head.

"But now I understand how much you actually wanted to come with me," he went on, "you're my student, after all, and I know how much you looked up to me. So I'm here to offer again."

The latter portion of what he had said didn't even register in her mind. She could only look up at her sensei in quiet wonder. The man who she had wanted to be like more than anyone else. The one she had a silly little crush on for almost three years. The one who had taught her most of what she knew as a shinobi. The one she had seen as the strongest and smartest person in the world. The one who had always known exactly what she had thought of him.

"Yes, that's right. I'll be your sensei once more," he leaned his head on one hand, watching the delight spread across her face.

But Anko was thinking on a completely different line. He _hadn't _abandoned her. No, she had _chosen _to leave him. She had made her _own _choice. Now she could run to the Hokage's tower and tell him that she had _decided on it herself. _She was no longer the unwanted student who a twisted missing-nin had left behind, she was the one who had _remained _loyal to Konoha and _chosen _to leave her traitor of a sensei. This time, he _didn't _know what she thought of him.

Slowly, white snakes peered out of her sleeves.

Seeing it, the snake sannin grinned. "I see you're still using my techniques. That's good…that will increase compatibility. You will be perfect."

"Orochimaru-sensei?" She said quietly, looking up.

"Yes, Anko?" The snake sannin grinned. He had missed hearing that in Anko's voice. She had always said it with such respect.

"Get out."

Without warning the snakes leapt at him, hissing. Now that she knew the truth, there was nothing that would stop her from yelling it from the top of the Hokage's tower. Not even Orochimaru.

The snake sannin frowned and leapt out of the way of the snakes.

"Anko? Why would you turn against me?"

"Because you turned against Konoha!" She yelled, bringing out her dagger and holding it in front of her.

Orochimaru took once last, calculating glance at her before gritting his teeth and disappearing in a cloud of chakra.

Anko frowned at the fact that it had only been a clone. With the high she was experiencing, she was confident that she would have been able to give her sensei a real butt-kicking. Even if she had ended up dead, it would have been damn epic.

Shaking her head and smiling, she leapt out of her apartment window with an almost feral grin on her face. She didn't give a damn that it was almost midnight and that the old man probably needed his sleep. The Hokage was going to have a visitor.

ooooo

Five kilometers outside of the gates of Konohagakure, Orochimaru clenched his teeth and narrowed his eyes as he realized his clone had been dispelled. That silly, idiotic little girl. Why on earth had he ever thought she was teaching his own techniques was now beyond him. That was not supposed to have happened. He _knew _how much Anko had respected him, he even knew about that stupid crush she'd had on him. For her to decide otherwise now…maybe telling the truth hadn't been such a good idea.

Anko had been his last hope for a _truly _worthy new body. A body of the other gender would have been slightly uncomfortable at first, but he was sure he wouldn't have learned to use it. His eventual target was still the Uchiha boy, but she would have been strong enough to occupy until the Uchiha boy was in his hands.

After going back to his headquarters and finding Kabuto dead on the floor of his laboratories, Orochimaru had finally realized the trouble he was in. The transfer procedure was _delicate. _Another person with Kabuto's fine touch would _not _be easy to find. And he was _weakening _so quickly…

Stumbling through the forest, he thought carefully of all the other research locations he technically owned. There was one in Mizu no Kuni that he had left five years ago…and he had some contacts in a small facility at the edge of Hi no Kuni…neither of them had anyone whose body was powerful enough to take over. His only choice was to choose some average shinobi and lay low for a few years…and to find someone to replace Kabuto's skill in iryou-ninjutsu.

Having made his decision, he began to walk faster towards the border of the country, determined to get there while he still had a decent amount of strength left. It would do no good if even the average chunin-level missing-nin located there were able to defeat him.

"Orochimaru."

The voice sounded from behind him. The snake sannin stilled. No one should have been able to sneak up behind him. Even when he was weak, he was still one of the legendary sannin on full guard. He turned around slowly, dreading the sight he was sure to see.

As he expected, standing behind him was one of the many people he'd never wanted to lay eyes on again. When he spoke, the words came out between gritted teeth.

"How nice it is to see you again, Pein-sama."

ooooo

"…actually anything in here."

"Mou…sorry about that, Shizune-san."

Naruto woke up blearily to the noises being made in the small kitchen area of Kakashi's apartment. True to his work, his sensei had made him camp out on the sitting room floor with the spare blankets while Gai had taken the futon and Shizune had retreated to Naruto's room. He sat up and rubbed his eyes, slowly taking in the forms of Kakashi and Shizune standing across the room. Shizune's hand was on the open pantry, and she was peering at the lack of food inside. Kakashi was standing beside her rubbing the back of his head.

"Buhi."

Naruto turned to see Tonton nudging his leg with his snout. He patted Tsunade's pet on the head and threw the blankets off. Both jonin turned to see him slip out of the makeshift bed.

"I hope your night wasn't too rough, Naruto-kun," Shizune apologized. She had taken his bed, after all.

"Naruto is a hyperactive eleven year old boy. He could get a good night's sleep on a stone floor if he tried," Kakashi retorted, "he doesn't need to worry about sore joints."

"I was fine, Shizune-san," he said happily, "good morning!"

"Good morning to you too, Naruto-kun! I think I'll go rent a room at an inn. Jiraiya-sama and Gaara-san didn't really give me any other instructions so I'm not really sure what I'm supposed to be doing," she admitted.

"We didn't get anything either, they had to leave because Gai was there. Their next letter should be arriving soon; they'll tell us about the next steps then," Kakashi told her, "in the meanwhile, I'll accompany you to the Hokage and explain that you're here. That will get you your status as special jonin, and then you can take on missions or work in the infirmary for a while if you like."

Naruto watched the two of them leave the apartment, and then turned to see a fully blanketed figure still asleep on the futon. He briefly considered waking Gai so he wouldn't be late meet his genin team. However, with what he had drunk the previous night, he wasn't leaving anytime soon. Naruto had felt rather proud of his sensei for having been sensible about his drinking.

An hour later, he was fully dressed and exiting the apartment to meet his team after being 'sick' for two days. He decided to do the courtesy of heading past Gai's team to inform them of their sensei's state. The moment he appeared in training ground four, Lee and Tenten's eyes brightened, and Neji's darkened.

"I am not willing to spar with any of you!" He said before either of them could ask, throwing his hands up, "I just recovered and I don't want to stress out my body."

Lee looked a little heartbroken, but sighed and nodded, "Naruto-kun. I must ask, as the student of the Eternal Rival Kakashi-sensei, do you know where Gai-sensei is? He did not show up for our training at four o'clock this morning."

"Four o'clock? That's harsh…" Naruto honestly felt sorry for them.

"Don't look at us, it's only Lee and Gai-sensei that go through that hell. Neji and I arrive at a more decent hour to train," Tenten retorted, "maybe sensei is on a mission."

"Actually, he's passed out on Kakashi-sensei's futon," Naruto explained.

Tenten and Neji seemed to choke on thin air.

"I suppose that, too, is part of the spring of youth," Lee contemplated. In his eyes, his sensei could do no wrong.

"No, they were celebrating their successful mission yesterday and Kakashi-sensei's teammates decided to stay over," the blond boy clarified, looking a little sheepish, "I just came by to tell you guys."

"Thank you Naruto," Tenten smiled, "because we were just about to go bang on his apartment door. Have fun training with your team!"

For some reason, that last bit was followed by a knowing smile. She was probably aware that he had the rookie of the year on his team…

When he arrived at training ground seven, Sasuke and Sakura were already there. Sasuke was leaning against a tree with his arms behind his head, watching clouds. Sakura was sitting by him with her knees drawn up. Naruto had realized that his brooding teammate had finally acknowledged her as not-another-useless-idiot, and was no longer trying his best to ignore her. Maybe it had something to do with watching her do a hundred chin-ups off the Hokage Monument.

"Naruto-baka!" Sakura stood up as he entered, "how are you feeling? I think you still look a little sick. Maybe you should take another week off," she suggested playfully.

"Yes. Cause Sasuke-teme really wants another week alone with you," Naruto deadpanned, receiving a slap on his head for the trouble.

"Ch. Where is our sensei?" Sasuke asked, "it's been a month and he's still showing up late every day". Despite his apparent nonchalance, he was giving his teammate a very strange look, almost searching.

"Kakashi-sensei is at the Shinobi war memorial," Naruto explained, "he's busy explaining how his mission went."

"Oh. Who's he with? That weird jonin in green tights?" Sakura patted down her red cheongsam and sat next to him on the grass, "maa, you'd think someone as cool as our sensei would find less crazy people to make friends with."

"Eternal Rivals," Naruto corrected, "and no, he talks to his teammate." He was no longer worried about delving into Kakashi's past because it was clearly doing him some good.

"Who's his teammate?" Sasuke asked, moving to sit across from them. He was still shooting strange glances at Naruto. They were _those _looks that conveyed that he wanted to ask something but was too much of a proud idiot to actually come out and say it. Naruto was perfectly aware of what he wanted to say, and decided that it would be better if he delayed _that _conversation for as long as possible.

"His name was Uchiha Obito," Naruto replied, "I think he was a cousin or uncle of yours, Sasuke. He's dead now, though."

"Sensei is visiting a relative of mine?-"

"Why's he talking to him if he's dead?" Sakura interrupted Sasuke, tilting her head to one side, "isn't that a little creepy?"

"Well, he died to save sensei's life when he was young, and gave him his Sharingan. I think he was sensei's best friend," Naruto explained. Kakashi would probably be a little miffed that he was practically yelling his past out, but he would have to deal with it. He himself hadn't known until he had left to study under Jiraiya. One day, he had been complaining about how his jonin-sensei had always made him wait for hours on end, and the toad sannin and finally decided he was mature enough to learn the truth about the Copy-nin. How he had made that decision, Naruto had no idea.

"That's…that's…that's so tragic!" Sakura's eyes widened, "and all he has left of him is the memorial?" It seemed like she was on the verge of tears. Naruto grinned. With her special propensity for strong, silent shinobi with tragic backgrounds, his sensei would be just fine. He had always been a little upset that Sakura hadn't attempted to stay better in touch with Kakashi after he'd left with Jiraiya – she'd completely dedicated herself to Tsunade – but there were no worries about that happening again.

"That's why sensei is late in the mornings. He goes to visit Obito-san's memorial stone," Naruto explained further.

"Sensei can be as late as he wants! Sasuke and I will just have to bring some work to do while we wait!" Sakura decided.

"Look, Sasuke-teme," Naruto said brightly, "she's found another guy with a sob story to chase. You owe me one."

"Ch," but there was a small smile on his face, "so dobe, I heard that-"

"Kakashi-sensei!"

Before Sasuke could finish his sentence, their sensei had arrived, casually strolling across the training grounds with his book in one hand. When he heard Sakura's exclamation, he looked up from his book to see the pink-haired girl throw her arms around him.

"Mou…Sakura-chan? What's wrong?" He stared down at her pink head, confused.

"I'm so sorry!" She cried, squeezing tightly.

"I'm sorry for your loss, sensei," Sasuke stated impassively, feeling the need to say something in case the jonin assumed _they _had done something to apologize for.

Immediately, Kakashi turned to Naruto for an explanation.

"I told them you were at the memorial when they asked," he explained briefly.

"Mou, it's fine. It's something that happened almost twenty years ago," he rubbed the back of his head and slowly dislodged his student from around his waist, "now we have to start training-"

"I did the training schedule yesterday, sensei!" Sakura reported, "and if you want I'll increase the number of chin-ups by ten! No, twenty!" She suggested dutifully. At this rate, she was going to turn into Lee.

"That's all well and good, but I'm actually going to start genjutsu today-"

"Yes! I'll do my very best!" She declared.

"…Alright, then," Kakashi raised an eyebrow, "Sakura, come with me. Naruto, help Sasuke practice taijutsu with his Sharingan."

"I'll beat it into him, sensei!" Naruto agreed, running to pull Sasuke's arm, "come on, teme."

At this, Sasuke looked extremely interested. He followed Naruto to the centre of the training grounds as Sakura and Kakashi left, a strange expression stuck on his face. He took the Uchiha taijutsu stance, but before moving to activate his Sharingan, he paused.

"Naruto?" He asked, eyebrows narrowed.

"Yes, Sasuke-kun?" Naruto replied cheerfully.

"If you dare go easy on me, I'll find a way to make your life hell," the Uchiha promised. Recently, he had been slowly warming up to Naruto, but now _that _look was back in his eyes. The same look that had been in Neji's eyes; Sasuke now saw him in two different ways. One as the playful orange kid, and another as a mystery challenge to overcome.

Damn. Naruto bit his lip. That incident with Neji was really messing things up. He wasn't good enough to hide the fact that he was hiding; and Sasuke would know what to look for.

Sasuke came at him with one hand held in front, palm loosely curved but not fisted, as per his family style. Naruto dodged it easily and dove to one side, preparing a punch in return. The Uchiha boy already had bits and pieces of the taijutsu he would grow into in the future. It wasn't graceful like Hinata's or Neji's, and it wasn't powerful like Lee's. It was simply efficient. No lunges were wasted for the sake of style as was sometimes evident in the jyuuken, and each strike had a careful amount of effort pre-planned.

Naruto dropped, bending his knees, as the other boy took a shot at his upper chest. There was a clear possible strike towards Sasuke's shoulder, but he ignored it. In his low position, he fisted one hand and pushed it upward as he used his knees to add momentum. The blatant attack was easily intercepted as Sasuke moved sideways.

"I can see it!" The Uchiha boy yelled, "you're trying to hold back!" He narrowed his eyes, "if you don't take this seriously, you'll regret it. Sharingan!"

His friend's eyes took on the typical red, with one tomoe in each iris. Having sparred with Kakashi many times, Naruto knew exactly how to fight an average Sharingan user. The only way to beat them was to be faster; even if he saw the attack beforehand, he wouldn't be able to match Naruto's speed to dodge.

The blond boy assumed his typical stance. If Sasuke really wanted, then he would take it seriously. Hopefully it would both convince him that he wasn't an idiot, and drive him to practice harder. He had already give Sakura her push, now it was time for his.

He went straight for Sasuke's right shoulder. Seeing the attack well before it was placed, the Uchiha brought one arm up to block and turned to attack Naruto's undefended back. Instead of retreated, Naruto bent his knees and allowed Sasuke's hand to whiz past his hair, fisting his hand and thrusting it upwards. The Sharingan caught the movement well ahead of time, but Sasuke's body wasn't fast enough to dodge or strong enough to block. His fist caught the bottom of Sasuke's chin and snapped his head up.

Clutching his hurt jaw, Sasuke came in again, this time reaching up for a powerful kick to the stomach with his knee. Naruto blocked the knee with one hand – noting that his younger body now had more of his superior strength – and drove his fist into Sasuke's stomach.

"What the hell?" Sasuke leapt back to bend over, arms folded over his stomach, "since when could you do that? You're not that strong!" He was probably referring to the fact that only two months ago when they had fought in the academy, Sasuke had been perfectly willing to let Naruto punch him. Mainly because his punches barely did any damage at all.

"Um…that took a lot out of me," Naruto explained, scratching his chin, "so I think we should rest.

"I _will _get an answer from you, Uzumaki Naruto!" the red disappeared from his eyes but the glare didn't budge, "how did you improve?"

"I…er…trained with Gai-sensei's genin in the morning. They're a year above us, so they're really good. I think they kind of rubbed off on me," Naruto made up. It was partly true, he _had _been training with them sometimes. However, it was at most once a week.

"'Gai-sensei's team', eh? Where do they train?" The Uchiha boy stood up a little awkwardly, still wincing at the slight pain in his middle. At this question, Naruto burst into a grin. Instead of turning gloomy like he'd half-expected him to, his friend was only getting motivated.

"Training ground four, I'll take you with me tomorrow! You'd better get up early, Sasuke-teme!"

ooooo

"Are you sure?" Shizune asked the older jonin walking beside her for the tenth time, "my shishou is kind of a hermit, she hasn't been anywhere near Konoha for years…will they still let me?"

"Yes, they will," he sighed, "that's partly why I'm here. Don't worry so much."

Kakashi and Shizune stopped finally made their way up the flight of stairs and into the hallway where the Hokage's office was located. Curiously enough, outside the door, sitting with her back to the ball, was Mitarashi Anko, special jonin.

"Anko-san," Kakashi greeted, "why are you here?"

"I've been camping out here all damn night waiting for the stupid old man to wakeup," she growled, "but when he finally got his wrinkly butt out of bed, it turns out he had some meeting scheduled and I'm supposed to wait another _hour._ Gosh this sucks," she sprawled more widely against the wall, "Kakashi-senpai, I suppose you're waiting with me. Whatever you've got to see him for, the stupid daimyo's representative is probably more important."

"All night? What did you need to see him for?" The masked jonin asked curiously.

At once, Anko's face lit up and she grinned from ear to ear. She leapt up to her feet and held both hands in front of her, the picture of excitation.

"You'll never guess what I found out last night…"

ooooo

"Is this sake or water?" Tsunade peered into the cup curiously, "because I really can't tell."

"I apologize if the sake of Kaminari no Kuni displeases you," Yugito stated between gritted teeth. They were seated in a small restaurant at the edge of the town next to the temple she had trained at. It had been chosen carefully for the express reason that it was a very decent but also very _poor_ place, and would therefore dilute their sake instead of wasting it by serving it normally.

"Oi waiter!" The slug sannin called, "bring me some shochu!" She waved her arms at one of the servers, causing a few other customers to stare in disapproval.

"No!" Yugito made a giant 'x' with her arms to the confused waiter.

"Why the hell not? I haven't had anything good in ages!" The slug princess asked, glaring at the younger blond woman.

"It's been one week, Tsunade-sama! And it is rude to ask for something as strong as shochu in a decent place like this!" She emphasized, "they won't have any."

"Huh," Tsunade raised her eyebrows and drowned the rest of her sake, "you kumo-nin and your stupid complicated social codes…bunch of stuck up-"

Yugito drowned her out, happy that the waiter had not come to enquire and had instead listened to her after glancing at her kumo hitai-ite. She'd slowly become fond of the older woman in her own way, but that didn't mean she was going to allow a single drop of undiluted sake pass her their path.

"Tsunade-sama, if you're finished, we will leave," Yugito advised, "we have to track down those two Akatsuki members."

The slug sannin gave her a worldly sigh, "are you going to tell me anything about these missing-nin, or do I just have to go find out for myself? It's been a while since I've been in any kind of epic battle. Unless gambling counts."

"Gaara-san told me much about their abilities while I travelled with him to see you," the younger woman began, "the two that we are hunting go by Deidara, missing from Iwa, and Sasori, missing from Suna. Gaara seemed to know quite a lot about Deidara, so I'll explain his abilities first, and then you may decide which one you prefer to engage."

"We're going to fight them separately?" Tsunade raised an eyebrow.

"Preferably, yes. The Akatsuki choose partners very carefully, each team works _very _well together. I can tell you from my experience of losing to Hidan and Kakuzu that although they seemed to hate each other, their team work was flawless," Yugito explained.

"I thought that Gaara boy chose us for the same reason?"

"Yes, but he only worked with the people he had with him," Yugito explained, "the Akatsuki are much more flexible. In choosing partners, they do not simply account for compatibility. They account for everything from attack range to affinity and everything in between. We could probably survive if we worked together, but it would be much better to separate them."

"Alright, that seems fine. Go on, then."

"Deidara of Iwa once beat Gaara during his rein as Kazekage-"

"WHAT? That kid was Kazekage? He says he's from _six years_ in the future, he couldn't have been older than seventeen!"

"Indeed, Gaara is the Kazekage of the future," Yugito explained calmly, "and if you're going to act like that everything I mention something from the future, this is going to be a very long conversation."

The older blond kunoichi sighed sat back with her arms crossed, indicating for her to continue.

"Deidara has mouths on both his hands, which he uses to mold and spit clay creations that can explode when he goes 'katsu'. He is a _very _long-range fighter, and usually rides giant clay birds very high up. He is able to look down to see his opponent with a scope attached to his left eye, which can adjust for up to half a kilometer of unobstructed vision," Yugito reported, "he mainly fights with his explosive clay, and is fairly adequate in taijutsu if need be. Gaara told me that if pushed far enough, he will detonate his own body in an explosion that can cover up to two kilometers in radius."

"So I'm guessing he should be the second one to die," Tsunade commented.

"Second?"

"I can get out of the way easily with Katsuyu, but I wouldn't want you to be blown up. So one of us has to go after Sasori and kill him first," she decided.

"Very well, Tsunade-sama," Yugito accepted the wisdom, "but you may reconsider when you hear of his partner. Sasori of the Red Sands is the leader of the two, and is the strongest puppet user in history."

"Puppets…the resident skill of Suna shinobi," Tsunade said thoughtfully, "go on."

"His physical form is in itself a puppet, but he remains inside one of his other puppets. And…I'm not sure I understood Gaara when he said this…but apparently Sasori turns humans into puppets to add to his collection," Yugito frowned, "and one of these puppets is the Sandaime Kazekage. The puppet is able to use the famous Iron Sand he was known for."

"So we will be up against the Sandaime Kazekage. I remember hearing that he disappeared back when I was a little girl…I see why you think he should be dealt with second," Tsunade conceded, "anything else I should know about?"

"According to Gaara, he is incredibly powerful. Only the combined efforts of an rather powerful old lady who had apparently known Sasori's abilities from a young age, and an extremely skilled Konoha kunoichi could stand the chance of taking him down," the younger woman sighed, "I think we will have to work together to defeat him."

"Damn straight," the slug sannin leaned back in her chair, "this is all so troublesome. How on earth did I end up from gambling to hunting missing-nin?"

"Personally I believe you've experienced a large increase in lifestyle, Tsunade-sama," Yugito expressed dutifully, "but we need to come up with a strategy."

"With the way you describe Sasori of the Red Sands, the only way seems to be distracting him while one of us takes care of Deidara, and then facing him together," Tsunade decided, "you said you were a mid-range fighter? Then I suggest you go after Deidara. I will send Katsuyu with you, and keep Sasori occupied until you and Katsuyu return," Tsunade planned.

"Understood." Despite the older woman's bad habits, Yugito understood perfectly well why she was one of the most powerful Konoha shinobi of her generation, "I will find away to defeat Deidara. My katon jutsu can extend for long distances, so it may work against him. If needed, I will use Matatabi against him."

"Good. Don't die, girl. I'm just starting to like you."

"Also, I forgot to mention. Since you will be going up against Sasori, you should know that all his weapons are coated in poison," Yugito added.

The slug princess groaned. "Wonderful. A poisoned human puppet and a man with mouths in all the wrong places. Not a normal human among them..."

**ooooo**

**Jiraiya telling Naruto about Kakashi's past during his training is _not _canon (in fact I'm not sure Naruto even knows yet in canon), but it seems to be prominent fanon.**

**Also, there will be a few short time skips in the story. They won't be explicitly mentioned, but they should be evident. Here are the travelling times (loosely going by canon): **

**Konoha to Suna → 3 days (unless your name is Gai or Lee)**

**Konoha to Kumo → 4 days **

**Kumo to Kiri → 3 days land travel and around week on a ship if stopping by Benisu or other islands (this is taken from Naruto's travel to the Turtle Island)**

**Konoha to Kiri → 2 days land travel and 3 days by ship if stopping by Uzushio**

**Konoha to Ame → 1 day**

**It takes one day to travel across any of the five major countries. Of course, travelling during a mission, in which case shinobi run the entire way, would be shorter.**


	13. The Strength of a Hundred

**Chapter 13 – Tsunade's Hundred vs Sasori's Hundred**

"The Kazekage will see you now, Gaara-sama," the man in white robes bowed low, sweeping his arm to indicate for him to enter the room.

Gaara nodded and stood up. The chunin exams were quickly approaching in mere weeks. Going by their plan, he had already made his decision that he would not participate in them. In his letter, he had already informed Kakashi well ahead of time not to put his team in. He and Jiraiya had travelled back to Sunagakure in order for Gaara to both make his appearance, and tell his father he was not going to fight this year.

When he entered the room, the Kazekage was waiting at his desk, wide brimmed hat covering his face in shadow. His hands were in a steeple in front of him.

"Sit down, Gaara," he instructed. The boy dutifully sat in the chair indicated, adopting the permanently angry expression he had once carried.

"As you know, the chunin exams will be held in Konohagakure this year," the Kazekage raised his head and watched his son with a face that was beginning to show lines.

Gaara stilled. His eyes widened just a fraction before he forced his expression to remain neutral.

"You and your siblings will be participating in them."

The boy slowly nodded, horror creeping up inside him.

"Good. Later on, closer to the exams, we will discuss several _plans. _I expect you to win any challenge they give you."

"I'll kill them all," Gaara rasped, staying in his younger self's character, "I'll make them validate my existence."

The mouth below the shadow of the brimmed hat grinned, "good. You are dismissed."

The red-haired boy quickly left the room, feeling the need to get to Jiraiya as quickly as possible. He almost ran down the spiral stairs, leaving the Kazekage's tower in a rush of sand. The people in the streets rushed into the nearest buildings as they saw the Demon of Suna running through their village.

When he left the gates and ran to where he had left Jiraiya in the desert, he was almost out of breath.

"Ah, Gaara, you're back. That was pretty fast, I'd have thought the Kazekage would be slightly angry with you going against his will like that," the toad sage commented, using his haori to wipe the sweat off his forehead.

"I said yes."

"What?"

"I need to write a letter to Kakashi-san. My siblings and I will be participating in the chunin exams," Gaara explained.

"Oi! I thought we had already decided not to! You have to tell me when you change the plan like this!" Jiraiya crossed his arms in disapproval. He didn't look nearly as intimidating with all his white hair plastered against his head with sweat.

"It's because my father has been killed. Orochimaru is masquerading as the Kazekage, and he's planning to attack Konoha."

ooooo

At almost noon, Naruto and Sasuke were too tired to continue sparring, and were sprawled on their backs near the shade of a large tree, watching the sky. Training seemed to be officially over since Kakashi had left Sakura and gone to the Hokage's tower with Shizune.

"That one looks like a book. Because it's a rectangle," Naruto spoke up.

"Shut up, dobe. Your attempts at cloud watching are pathetic," Sasuke retorted, "because that is clearly a square."

Naruto wisely decided to let the Uchiha boy have his win for the moment. He turned to one side, and saw a small pug running across the training ground. He waved the dog over, but it seemed to be heading for him anyway.

"Pakkun?" He greeted, "what are you doing here?"

"Dobe, are you actually talking to a dog?" Sasuke asked from beside him, sitting up, "I'm not sure if anyone's ever told you this, but dogs don't talk back."

"Shut up kid," Pakkun glared at Sasuke, whose eyes went as wide as saucers.

"Naruto! The dog talked!" He pointed.

The blond boy grinned, "this is Pakkun. He's one of Kashi-sensei's ninken," he explained. Sasuke looked slightly fascinated.

"I'm here to ask you to get to the apartment," Pakkun spoke up, "Kakashi wants to see you."

"Eh? Why?" Sasuke spoke up, feeling a little strange that he was speaking to a dog.

"Beats me. He had some girl with him that I've never seen before, though," the dog drawled, "I'm going to dismiss myself. See ya, kid." The pug vanished in a cloud of chakra.

"So that's sensei's summons? It's not very large…I heard that some people can summon animals the size of houses," Sasuke observed, still watching the spot where Pakkun had been standing, "but if it's sensei's, it must be able to do _something _cool..."

"Pakkun is the best dog ever!" Naruto said loyally, "and he's a tracker, like Kakashi-sensei. I'll see you later, Sasuke!"

With that, he got to his feet and ran out of the grounds before Sasuke could tie him up and question him.

Kakashi and Shizune had left to get her reinstated as a Konoha shinobi after her long period of absence. Could something have gone wrong? Pakkun had said there was some other girl with them…He managed to reach the apartment in record time, running the entire way.

"I'm back, I'm here, what's wrong?" Naruto panted, throwing Kakashi's door open.

Inside, three pairs of eyes looked back at him. Kakashi was sitting on the sofa with Shizune beside him, and across from them was Mitarashi Anko. She was lounging back in her netted clothing, an incredibly happy look on her face. Kakashi and Shizune, on the other hand, looked worried.

"Ah! Anko-sensei!" Naruto pointed and yelled, "I know you!"

"Glad to be so popular, kid," Anko raised an eyebrow at him, and then turned back to Kakashi, "Kakashi-senpai, why is your kid genin here? I though you were going to discuss _him_?"

"Naruto ended up finding out about this while he trained under Jiraiya," Kakashi explained, "so I want him to be here," he waved the genin over and motioned for him to take a seat next to Anko. Naruto sat as far from her as would be considered vaguely acceptable. He _still _hadn't forgotten the fact that she had once licked blood off his face, and he never would.

"Anko met with Orochimaru yesterday," he began, filling Naruto in, "he came to take her body as his replacement."

"Oi! What are you telling him?!" Anko protested, "we don't know that for sure!"

"Let's just say things aren't as they seem," Naruto put out. He frowned at the revelation, "does that mean that he's no longer after _him_?"

"I'm not sure whether _he'll _be safe, but I highly doubt it" Kakashi admitted, "I thought you might be able to make sense of Anko's recollection."

Naruto bit his lip, and then turned to Anko, who had her arms crossed over the netted shirt, "Anko-sensei, what exactly did Orochimaru tell you?"

"Sensei only asked me to 'join him'," Anko protested, "I have no idea if what Kakashi-senpai says about him wanted to use me as his next body is true," suddenly, she paused, "but…he asked me how my taijutsu was coming along…and if I was healthy…and after seeing that I still used his White Snakes he said we were 'compatible'…Gosh, he really is after my body, isn't he?" She looked slightly disturbed.

"It seems evident, Anko-san," Shizune agreed.

The other kunoichi sighed, "that was actually the original reason why he allowed me to use his summons, you know. Before he gave me the curse seal and decided I was only worth an experiment, he was planning to use me as his backup. I only found out about it much later."

"Wait…you know about his Replacement technique?" Naruto asked, slightly surprised. He had vaguely known that Anko had been Orochimaru's prized student from what Jiraiya had told him, but he didn't know the extent to which she knew about his experiments, "but why didn't you try to stop him from doing the experiments when you were young?"

Anko crossed her arms defensively, "I didn't actually know what he was doing, then. I just saw him pouring over scrolls in his study and thought he was pretty cool. I was kinda _thirteen _at the time. I remember accidently walking in on him while he was writing the technique down into his research scrolls. He was sorely tempted to kill me that evening for my little mistake," Anko reported as if it was completely normal.

"Anko-san, how much do you know about his jutsu?" Shizune spoke up softly.

"It's just a technique that allows him to move into another host body at the expense of his own, and a fair amount of chakra. The technique has to be prepared and stored well ahead of time, so the user weakens a little at around the time he plans to use it," she explained, "Kakashi-senpai, if the Hokage ever asks why a genin knows about Konoha's number one traitor, I'm pointing your way."

"Don't worry about it, Anko," Kakashi replied, deep in thought. Finally he sighed, "Naruto, I'm going to tell her what Gai knows."

The blond boy nodded. He was perfectly willing to leave strategy and important decisions to Gaara and Kakashi, who were far more intelligent. After all, Naruto's first plan had been to rush into Amegakure and give Pein one of his infamous 'by my friend speeches', hoping the Rinnegan user wouldn't kill him on the spot. Granted, those speeches had won Gaara over, but only because the Suna boy had never previously had much human contact.

Anko, on the other hand, looked slightly interested, "Gai? That man in the green tights that you're with sometimes? What does he know?"

"Two weeks ago, we discovered that Orochimaru was planning an attack on Konoha," Kakashi began, "his plan was to kill the Kazekage and resume his place to strike Konoha during the chunin exams with the help of Suna's Jinchuuriki. There were certain…reasons…why we couldn't tell Sandaime or the rest of the village of this, so we had to take care of it ourselves. Jiraiya of the Sannin teamed up with Suna's Jinchuuriki – who didn't like the idea of his father being murdered – to infiltrate Orochimaru's main hideout-"

"WHAT?"

"Calm down Anko, nobody died," he said soothingly, "and Orochimaru ended up running away after we destroyed his hideout and almost killed him in his weakened state. So that's probably why he came to you, looking for a way to regain his strength while he rebuilt his research."

"I see," Anko stated, still looking slightly shocked, "but…why are you telling me all of this?"

"Because you're going to be one of the proctors at the chunin exams, right? I want you to be on the lookout for Orochimaru, and protect the Sandaime during the third task," Kakashi told her plainly.

Naruto frowned, "wait, I thought Orochimaru didn't have any plans to kill the Kazekage and attack Konoha? Or if he did, didn't we kind of destroy most of his resources?"

The jonin held up a folded piece of paper, their latest letter from Gaara, "well, he changed his mind."

ooooo

"Are you sure they'll come?" Tsunade asked for the third time, "because not even Jiraiya's has _that _many contacts. And he really gets around," she shifted uncomfortably on the stone steps that she and Yugito were sitting on.

"They located me before, and I was _trying _to be covert," the younger woman explained, "this time I practically shouted my location into the skies. I met up with over twelve shopkeepers and casually discussed my plans to come here to train, making sure I was extra loud. By now the information black market should have spread that knowledge across half of Kaminari no Kuni."

"Then why is it," Tsunade shifted again, "that we have been waiting in his stupid temple for five days?"

"It takes time for the Akatsuki to travel. I apologize if my living standards are not to your taste, Tsunade-sama," Yugito said between clenched teeth. That phrase was coming up rather often, and it was becoming painfully evident that the slug sannin had been an extremely spoiled little girl, "living like this, off nature, teaches discipline."

"You know what else it teaches? Sore behinds and dirty skin," the slug princess muttered, "how on earth am I supposed to fight Sasori if all my joints are aching?"

"It has been only two hours since you went to bathe, Tsunade-sama."

"In a stream! That doesn't clean you!"

"It _does _if you do it _right,_" Yugito dropped the formalities and glared openly, gritting her teeth when she saw a glint of approval in the other woman's eyes. It was almost like the slug princess was _trying _to make her angry.

"Well, we have the plan down, right?"

"Yes," Yugito slipped back into her serious mode, "since they will both be after me, I will run into the location we specified while you immediately attack Sasori. Deidara will go after me, and Katsuyu and I will take him away two kilometers from here, which is the approximate blast radius that Gaara mentioned. Once I am finished with him, I will return and help you with Sasori," she finished, "is there anything I missed."

"No, you seem to have everything. Remember, if he starts turning into a living explosive, get inside Katsuyu as quickly as possible," The slug sannin reminded, "and if Katsuyu ever tried to absorb you, don't fight it. She's a smart one, and she knows what she's doing". Despite her complaints about life, she was indeed taking this seriously. In fact, she seemed to be almost nerve wracked after all that Yugito had said about Sasori. It would be strange if she weren't. Kaze no Kuni tended to produce some very talented puppet user shinobi, and Sasori of the Red Sands was the most powerful puppet user in history. She stood up and put her hands to the ground.

"Kuchiose!"

In a cloud of chakra, the giant slug appeared.

"Well, if they haven't found us already, Katsuyu-sama's appearance should do it," Yugito commented. The slug was easily half as large as the entire building. The thud she made upon being summoned should have been heard for a good kilometer.

"Her size won't be good for you in battle," Tsunade said, turning to the slug, "Katsuyu, make yourself smaller. I need you to go with Yugito, and leave part of yourself here with me."

The giant slug nodded, and slowly decreased until she was only the size of a small cat. She then split into two, with her smaller self attaching to Tsunade's shoulder, and larger self moving to survey the other kunoichi.

"Hello, Katsuyu-sama," Yugito began, "my name is Nii Yugito. I am happy to have you by my side for this battle."

The slug nodded and slowly slid up to her shoulder, "I will do my best to protect you as Tsunade-sama has instructed, Yugito-san."

"Hopefully it'll be enough," Tsunade muttered, looking around worriedly.

"You will be fine, Tsunade-sama," Yugito finally said, acknowledging the other kunoichi's nerves, "Gaara told me something that convinces me of it."

"Oh?" Tsunade raised an eyebrow, "and what would convince you that I can easily beat Sasori of the Red Sands?"

"The girl who helped defeat him, she was apparently your student," Yugito gave her a rare smile that lit up her impassive features, "you should be more worried about me."

"Nah," Tsunade snorted, a smile forming on her face, "people tell me that I have huge chakra reserves, but I can almost feel how large yours are. You'll end up using your bijuu, but you'll defeat him."

"Defeat who?"

They both stood up and spun around at the sudden voice. From the edge of the forest, two figures slowly emerged and approached the stone temple. Both were openly wearing their Akatsuki cloaks. Yugito went over their appearance and nodded to herself, remembering the two men that had tried to take Matatabi. Deidara had his scope hidden behind blond hair, and Sasori was hidden inside his puppet, Hiruko.

"Could you be talking about us?" Deidara of Iwa asked, "what a laugh. We found you so easily that we almost expected a trap. But it turns out you're too dim to make one, un."

"Yugito," Tsunade said sharply.

"Understood," the kunoichi replied softly. She raised her voice, "Deidara! You once attempted to attack me like a coward, in a two-on-one fight where I was unprepared. This time, I will face you properly and give you the fight you want."

"Deidara," Sasori rasped, "the girl is trying to separate us."

But the blond Akatsuki member simply grinned widely, "if she really wants to play, then I agree, un. Let me show her what art truly is, un!"

Yugito began to run in the opposite direction, "then let's see if you can find me first!" She yelled over her shoulder. When it came to running, few were faster than her. There was a specific place she had chosen for their fight, one deep in the forests. The main reason was to inhibit Deidara's scope as much as possible; before he could see her, he would have to _find _her. The second reason was to try to keep him on the ground for as long as possible. Gaara had told her many things about Deidara's giant birds; and she wanted to weaken him as much as possible before he even attempted to take to the sky. Yugito pushed herself to her full speed and disappeared into the trees.

"Oi! Jinchuuriki! Get back here, un!" Deidara yelled, running after her, "I thought you wanted a fight! Leave her to me, Sasori no danna," he paused, looking over his shoulder, "I'll bring her back, un."

"Fine," Sasori rasped from inside Hiruko, watching his blond partner run into the forest. Slowly, he turned his puppet head towards Tsunade, "I recognize you."

The slug sannin crossed her arms and grinned, "you'd better!" Despite her brave words, she was beginning to feel more nervous. Only a few weeks ago she had been fantastically losing at gambling, and now she was faced with one of the most powerful members of the Akatsuki. It was not a pleasant feeling. Slowly, she removed her green haori and threw it to one side, remembering what Yugito had said about his poisoned needles.

"Tsunade of the Sannin," he spoke after thinking for a while, "I've heard many things about you. Why are you here?" Coming from inside Hiruko, his voice was strangely distorted.

"To protect Yugito," Tsunade said loudly, "she'll take out Deidara since he's apparently the weaker among you two, and I won't let you get anywhere near her."

Hiruko's puppet mouth seemed to grin under its mask, "you really think you, alone, can take me down?"

"I'm sure of it," she narrowed her eyes. If what Yugito said was true and a _student _of hers was able to help take his man down…then she'd be damned if she didn't show him what the shishou herself could do.

"Well, I won't underestimate you, Tsunade of the Sannin."

Suddenly, a long spiked tail began to emerge from Hiruko's body, standing threateningly in the air like a scorpion's tail. Tsunade barely had time to blink before a shower of poisoned needles began to rain on her. She slid a kunai out of her pouch and began to run for Hiruko, dodging the needles on the way, and using the kunai to cover her blind spots. Before she could come within three meters of him, Hiruko's tail began to spit out small wooden boxes, each of which opened to reveal more poisoned needles.

"Tsunade-sama!" Katsuyu yelled from her position on the kunoichi's shoulder. She turned around just in time to block a larger needle. When the first barrage stopped, she stood there, panting. A thin sheen of sweat on her forehead reminded her of exactly how many years it had been before she had last fought like this. If only she had someone to protect her blind spots, then maybe she could concentrate more on attacking…

"You are not all that I expected," Sasori rasped, "this fight should be over soon". Tsunade was tempted to yell, but decided that it was only better if the Akatsuki member underestimated her. Sasori was good with his wide range attacks, but his main body was made out of wood. If she could only get in close, one good punch would be enough to force him out of his wooden shell.

"You'll never catch me with those poisoned needles," she told him, "because an iryounin needs to know how to _dodge._" With a loud cry, she concentrated chakra into her index finger and used all the power in her legs to jam it into the ground. The ripple of chakra broke through the earth, creating a large gaping line that extended all the way towards Hiruko's body.

Sasori had no choice but to jump upward to avoid getting sucked into the earth. While he was in the air, he turned to see the slug sannin coming at him, having leapt from the ground straight at Hiruko with one hand tightly fisted. He was stuck in midair, and the amount of power placed into that one punch was sure to shatter his outer puppet completely. The Suna missing-nin thought quickly. Hiruko was an expendable puppet; he could easily slip out of it and allow it to be destroyed as he attacked the kunoichi from the back. However, that would leave him in his true form, and he was slightly paranoid. It was better to use _him _early on, and put everything out there to take out the slug princess. So as the Tsunade approached, he drew a single scroll from the folds of Hiruko's cloak.

Instead of wood, her fist met with a solid iron block. The dark shape covered the front of her vision, and her momentum was too strong to turn back. The punch to the iron block sent a shockwave of pain through her arm and into her body, and she winced as she was forced to pull her arm back and leap to the ground, flipping in mid air and landing heavily on all fours.

Looking back up, she saw Sasori, still safely inside Hiruko, landing a few meters away, avoiding the crack in the earth. In front of him stood another puppet dressed in full robes and with long, dark hair falling over its shoulders. It had one wooden arm out, controlling the block of iron, which was slowly disintegrating into sand from the punch.

Behind the puppet, Sasori was holding up a scroll with Hiruko's hand. On the scroll were three lines, stacked on top of each other. 'Three'. Tsunade's eyes widened and she realized what it was, and then narrowed as she looked back towards the dark-haired puppet protecting Sasori.

"Tsunade of the Sannin," Sasori said in his distorted voice, "I would like you to meet the Sandaime Kazekage."

"Greetings, Kazekage-sama," Tsunade said between gritted teeth, slowly using her Shousen to mend her bruised fist, "I'm afraid you will be dying once more."

Sasori watched the green chakra that enveloped her hand curiously. He noticed the bruises on the skin slowly fade away with a small frown, and then put both arms in front of him, fingers ready with minuscule threads of chakra attacked to each tip. One movement of his ring finger had the puppet of the Kazekage hurtling a block of iron towards his opponent.

Tsunade narrowed her eyes as the block approached. Nearby was another giant block, also made of the Iron Sand that the Sandaime grew famous for. She took one look at the distance with calculating eyes, and then made up her mind. Fisting her hand again and channeling chakra into it, she dove her arm forward, using the momentum to make abrupt contact with the iron. The giant block flew backwards and hit the second block at a precise angle, sending it hurtling towards the Kazekage puppet.

The second block made contact just as Sasori drew the puppet back. The Sandaime brought both hands up to make the iron block fall out of shape, but it was seconds too late. Just before the block crumbled, it had enough momentum to shatter one of the puppet's wooden arms.

Tsunade watched the result with approval. She had meant to hit the second block a few millimeters to the right, but such precision was almost impossible with her force. For the moment, this was good enough. Without both hands, the Sandaime wouldn't be able to control the Iron Sand to the same extent as before.

"Send that iron in again, I dare you," she yelled at Sasori, narrowing her eyes, "because I'm the worst possible opponent for you."

"Hmm?" Hiruko raised one wooden eyebrow, "and what makes you say that?" He twitched an index finger and the Sandaime compressed the sand back together. It was a sloppier job, since Iron Sand fell off the edges without the control of both arms.

"Because in the end, all your puppets are made of _wood. _Even if they're able to avoid fireballs and survive wind attacks, they _will _be crushed with my raw strength. And I happen to be the physically strongest shinobi you'll ever meet," she stated, raising her fist to show that she was ready for anything the Sandaime would send.

"Well…" Sasori rasped, "let's see if you can avoid something else, then. Let's see how well you do against iron itself." He raised the Sandaime's one good arm and concentrated as he allowed the Iron Sand to disperse.

Tsunade frowned as dispersed sand began to surround her, swirling in unknown winds. Before she could take the chance to move, she was surrounded in a dome of Iron Sand. She gritted her teeth and looked upwards as the sand began to solidify around her.

"Sousou," Sasori's voice barely made it into the dome of sand before each particle began to close in on her. The slug sannin looked up and realized that although the dome was closing in, the amount of Iron Sand stayed constant. At this point, the walls were probably over two feet thick with iron. If she tried to punch it, it would only break her hand.

Instead, she focused a stream of chakra directly into one leg, looking down and watching as it glowed green.

"Haaa!" She cried as she lifted the leg and brought it back down with all the force in her thighs. Beneath her, the ground began to quake, and then split open. Without their foundation, the dome of iron sand collapsed just as it was about to crush her to death.

As soon as the unstable Iron Sand began to thin out, she delivered one direct punch to the top and leapt out of the dome. Without thinking twice, she landed within three meters of an unprepared Sasori and lunged forward, pooling chakra into her fist.

Inside Hiruko, Sasori had no time to dodge. Tsunade's fist came directly onto the front of Hiruko's head, and the wooden puppet shattered like glass, splinters flying everywhere. Sasori quickly leapt out of the puppet, watching as Tsunade was carried forward by the momentum of her punch. He had no choice but to allow Hiruko to break, but at that moment, Tsunade was almost completely open.

As he flew backwards to escape the destroyed puppet, his fingers were already moving. One twitch from his fourth finger and a pull from his index finger, and Sandaime's Iron Sand was reassembling itself within seconds. Just as Tsunade recovered from her punch, she was struck fully in the back by the block of iron.

The slug sannin heard the swish of wind behind her before pain erupted in her back. Since he only had one hand, the Sandaime's aim wasn't perfect and the block hit more towards the back of her left shoulder, but it was still a hit.

"Tsunade-sama!" Katsuyu yelled, seconds too late. She tried to absorb some of the impact from her position on the slug sannin's shoulder, and in the process, her tiny slug clone body was destroyed.

"Arrgh!" Tsunade yelled in pain, collapsing on her front. Immediately after, she felt the barest swish of wind behind her again, and managed to quickly move to one side, looking back to see a giant iron spike stuck into the ground where she had just been. She looked over her shoulder and saw that Katsuyu's clone had disappeared, probably taking too much damage. Those memories would be delivered to the Katsuyu that had accompanied Yugito. She could only hope that Yugito finished her battle quickly.

Standing up despite the protests of her bleeding back, she leapt backwards to get out of range. Immediately, she reached back with her hand to survey the wounds. Luckily, she had been hit by the haphazard block instead of the sharp spike, so although her back was a museum of bruises, there was no blood. She reached back with her shousen in one hand, slowly healing the small, ruptured blood vessels and aching bones.

Five meters away, a small figure in a black cloak was on the ground, recovering from his fall and immediate puppet use. As he stood up, he slowly pulled off the cloak, shaking hair that hadn't felt the air outside in over four years.

When Tsunade looked up to see him, her eyes widened. She saw a young boy who couldn't have been more than fifteen.

"You…you left Suna over twenty years ago! How could you still be so young?" She stuttered.

The young boy looked back at her and smiled, "and you have been alive for over sixty years. How can _you _still be so young, _baba_?" He raised one hand and twitched his index finger. Tsunade finished healing the bruises as best as she could, and lunged out of the way as the iron spike headed for her once again.

"It seems hypocritical to ask me such a thing," Sasori went on, the smile still on his face, "when you clearly don't age well."

"No, that's not it," Tsunade went on, still leaping out of the way every time the constructs of Iron Sand came her way, "there's something else about you. You look like…like…"

"I am not human," Sasori replied, "I am on my way to becoming a true puppet."

"You're a puppet," Tsunade realized, "that is a puppet's body. That's why you still look young."

"Correct. It is always good to know a little about the one who kills you."

"You idiot! Don't you realize the value of a human life?"

The slug sannin dodged yet another attack, mind whirring with thoughts. As one of the greatest iryounin in shinobi history, she _knew _the human body. She knew every nerve, vein, and organ by heart. She could pinpoint every tenketsu point better than a Hyuga, so she knew one thing about a shinobi's chakra. _It had to come from living flesh. _

There was no way Sasori could use chakra if he truly was a wooden puppet. There would be no origin, nowhere for the chakra to remain. No complex structure for the mind to emerge from. But Sasori had said he was _on the way _to becoming a puppet. That meant he still had flesh somewhere. Wherever it was, that would be his weak point.

But for now, he was still in his Akatsuki cloak, his entire body covered. She had no idea where it would be, and to find out, she had to make him take the cloak off. However, before that…

She would have to take care of the Sandaime Kazekage.

Slowly, the small purple diamond on her forehead began to flow with chakra, extending until it flowed down her face. This was an Akatsuki member, and like most of the others he was clearly at Kage level. To defeat him, she would have to use kage level skill. For that, she refused to use her White Strength Seal. If it took even a drop more chakra than she thought, she would end up looking like an old woman in front of this puppet-boy. Instead, she allowed the purple chakra lines to cover the rest of her body.

"Oh? What is this, _baba_?" Sasori mocked.

"Byakuugo no Jutsu," she whispered, feeling the rush of chakra run into ever cell in her body. She looked up at Sasori with narrowed eyes lined with purple chakra, "prepare to face the Strength of a Hundred."

Hearing that, Sasori's smile slowly disappeared. Remembering that he was up against one of the Legendary Sannin, he brought both hands up, jerking Sandaime's head up. Instead of the easy movements of his fingers, he swept his entire arm to one side, watching as Iron Sand slid out from the ground and gathered into a wall in front of the puppet. The iron wall slowly branched out, forming needle thin spikes dripping in poison. He narrowed his eyes as his defense was complete, waiting for the Slug Sannin to make her move.

Tsunade waited until the rush of chakra was almost too much to bear before turning down the flow, staring ahead at the wall of spikes. One hit. She was only going to need one hit. Looking at the poisoned needles extending from the wall, she brought one hand up and slowly curled her palm into a fist. Without warning, she lunged ahead.

Sasori's eyes widened as she made directly for the wall of poisoned needles that protected the Sandaime Kazekage. As she moved, she gained speed, allowing her momentum to slowly increase until nothing could move out of her path no matter how fast. Looking straight ahead at the spiked wall, she drove her chakra-covered fist directly into it, watching as the solid iron bent and broke under the power of her fist. Hundreds of tiny poisons spikes embedded themselves in her body, but each only lasted seconds before her cells forced them out, allowing her to only feel mere pinpricks on her skin. The iron wall barely slowed her down as she shot directly though it and embedded her fist in the unprotected wooden face of the Sandaime Kazekage.

The wooden puppet shattered into splinters as she went thought it like a knife. The momentum carried her a few more meters before she dug her feet into the ground and stopped moving. Turning back, Tsunade looked directly into Sasori's puppet eyes.

The Akatsuki member had his eyes slightly widened as he watched his previous kage fall to pieces, "so this is the power of the Strength of a Hundred. I may have underestimated you indeed, Tsunade of the Sannin."

The slug sannin didn't say anything. She straightened, and slowly felt more poisoned needles emerging from her skin where they had been driven in. Each needle fell to the ground with a small clang.

"But there's something I'm still not sure of," Sasori went on, "why are you not dead? You have been stabbed over and over by my poisoned iron needles."

Tsunade didn't answer. With the sheer amount of raw chakra was occupying ever tenketsu point, she wasn't sure she would be able to open her mouth, let alone talk. Every cell in her body had been supplied with ridiculous amounts of chakra; the poison stood no chance against it. It would be destroyed the moment it entered her bloodstream. Instead, she waited until the rest of her injuries had healed, before preparing her fist once more.

"I had a feeling I would have to use this against you," Sasori muttered, bringing out a scroll from under his cloak. He unraveled it, and threw it up, bringing both hands together to release what was stored inside, "let's see how well your Hundred does against _my _Hundred! Akahiki: Hyakki no Souen!"

Immediately, the sky grew a little darker. Tsunade looked up to see dozens of wooden puppets all hovering above them, each connected to Sasori with a thread of chakra.

"Do you know how the power of a puppet-user is determined, Tsunade of the Sannin?" Sasori spoke again, "it is determined by the number of puppets he can control at once. Now look above you, and see each of the _one hundred _puppets that I once used to take over an entire nation! Each one of them was once a formidable shinobi!"

The slug sannin watched as the puppets bore down on her. Through eyes lined with the Strength of a Hundred, all she saw was cannon fodder_._ Sending more chakra into her fists, she easily met the wooden bodies with punches. A puppet approached her with a tanto; she reduced it to mere wooden splinters. Another buried a long blade deep into her back. She turned around, gave it a shattering kick, and then pulled the blade out of her middle, easily throwing it aside.

Seventy puppets later, she first began to feel the toll of the Strength of a Hundred. If it went on for too much longer, she would be forced to use her White Strength Seal, and she was trying to avoid that at all costs. The chakra in that seal had been storing for over twenty years, and by now it was truly formidable amount. She had promised herself only to use it in emergencies, when protecting her precious people.

Looking at the remaining thirty puppets, she decided that he wouldn't bother with them any longer. She needed to get to Sasori directly.

"Is my Hundred greater than yours, baba?" Sasori asked, a slow grin forming on his puppet face.

At that exact moment, the two of them and each of the thirty remaining puppets were thrown aside by a tremendous push of chakra. Sasori quickly picked himself up and looked across from where the push of chakra had come from, confused.

Tsunade grinned, reducing the chakra flowing through her until she could speak again, "do you know what that is, Sasori of the Red Sands?"

Slowly, the realization dawned on his puppet face, and his grin disappeared, "a pity. He was a good partner, and a better artist, despite his strange views on longevity," he stood up and face Tsunade again, "when I am finished with you, I will retrieve the Nibi myself."

"I don't think so," Tsunade said, quickly biting her thumb and pushing it against the ground.

"Kuchiose!"

Immediately, a slug slightly taller than her appeared between them. Katsuyu turned to see her, slightly bulging around the middle. Tsunade rushed over to the slug and put her hands against the slimy body, channeling green chakra into the slug's body.

"It is fine now," Katsuyu stated once she felt her resident finish healing. As Tsunade drew her hands back, she opened her mouth and allowed Nii Yugito to fall out, coughing and spluttering. Even though her injuries were healed, she was covered in blood, and Tsunade looked away quickly, feeling a tell-tale pang in her stomach. It was lucky that she was facing a puppet user with no blood to speak of.

"Are you ok?" She asked, still looking away.

"Yes, Tsunade-sama. My injuries are mostly healed," she stood up, hair plastered to her forehead with slug slime, and brought up her nails, which had grown long and thick to become as strong as steel, "what should I do?"

"Take care of the cannon fodder," Tsunade instructed, pointing to the puppets who were beginning to get up from having been pushed aside by the blast of the explosion.

"Understood, Tsunade-sama," Yugito moved to stand in front of the puppets, the Nibi's chakra slowly surrounding her in a cloud of blue.

"Now it's just the two of us," Tsunade spoke directly to the puppet, "what else do you have up your sleeve?" She ignored the sounds of clashing as the younger kunoichi sprang dutifully from her previous battle to help her partner with hers.

"Well…I haven't used myself in such a long time…" Sasori gritted his teeth and threw his cloak away, revealing the rest of his puppet body, "you can only use that technique for so long. If I tire you out before you can get me, you will lose," with that, he unraveled the pike from around his waist and held it by it's string, "if I keep making you heal yourself from fatal injuries, you'll run out of chakra in no time."

"I don't plan to," Tsunade said, "because I'm only going to spare one more hit for you."

She released the taps holding her chakra back, once more feeling the flood as ever cell absorbed ten times as much. Looking over Sasori's body, she found her target almost immediately, sitting a little off to the left in his chest.

Sasori held the pike firmly and threw it towards the slug sannin. Tsunade didn't even wince as she allowed the pike to pass right through her chest. Instead, she grasped the rope that controlled it and pulled with chakra-enhanced strength, reeling him closer to her at speeds that didn't leave him with enough time to cut the rope.

The red-haired boy's eyes widened as he realized what she was doing, but he was unable to move as the rush of wind forced his arms to his sides. He flew straight towards the slug sannin, severing all his chakra threads and putting both arms in front of him in a desperate attempt to shield himself.

As he approached, Tsunade's fist drove directly into his chest, grabbing the sealed lump of flesh that made him human as the rest of him crashed into her. When she had a full grasp around it, she didn't hesitate to crush it between her fingers, eyes widening as the blood inside it erupted into her hand.

Tsunade dropped to her knees, and for a while she sat there, wide eyed and looking at the blood covering her hand. She didn't hear Yugito approaching from behind.

"T-that was a-amazing, Ts-sunade-sama," the younger kunoichi praised, panting from her fight. After the chakra threads had been cut and all the puppets had fall to the ground around her, she had turned just in time to see the slug sannin drive her hand though Sasori's chest. However when she walked to the other side, it was to see her partner wide-eyed and shocked, staring at her blood covered hand.

She immediately realized the issue. Reaching up, she deftly untied her kumo hitai-ite, which was still soaked in slime. Wiping it off on an equally slimy shirt without seeming to realize it was doing no good, she tied the cloth around Tsunade's eyes with gentle fingers, her worry increasing as the slug sannin didn't move a muscle.

Once she could no longer see, Yugito pulled her bottle of water from her pack and started getting the blood of her hands. She frowned; fear of blood was a dangerous condition for an iryounin to have. When her hands were as clean as possible, she undid the hitai-ite from her eyes and watched her closely.

After a small while, Tsunade finally moved, "sorry about that. I'm…just a little queasy sometimes," she was carefully avoiding looking at the other kunoichi, whose top half sported bloodstains.

Yugito nodded, accepting the explanation, "well, I'm covered in slime. I'm going to go clean myself. Wait inside the temple, Tsunade-sama."

The slug sannin watched gratefully as the younger woman left to get rid of the bloodstains.

ooooo

Two hours later, both kunoichi were as clean as they could have gotten, and were seated on the front steps of the stone temple, looking out at the battleground in front of them that was covered in wooden parts. Tsunade had headed for the stream she had bathed in before, only to find a large crater in the earth that extended for a great distance, with not a single living thing in sight. Yugito had quickly lead her to a different stream than she had located, promising a play-by-play of the battle later on.

"You managed better than I thought, Tsunade-sama. It was evident that Sasori was more powerful. I was carefully trying to save my strength so I could help you, but you were almost winning when I arrived," Yugito commented, "it is truly a great thing to have defeated both Sasori of the Red Sands and the Sandaime Kazekage."

"I used a forbidden technique," Tsunade muttered absently, watching Sasori's puppet head, which was lying a little way off, "one that gives me immortality in battle."

"That is incredibly impressive," Yugito added, "I was only lucky that Deidara underestimated me. I wouldn't never lasted against two Kage level opponents at once."

Tsunade narrowed her eyes. The Hokage was getting old these days. If it ever got to his wrinkly ears that she had easily defeated two people of Kage level, she was going to find her reluctant head carved into that monument in no time.

**ooooo**

**Question, comments, or feedback? Leave a review and make an aspiring author's day ^_^**


	14. Utakata's Saiken & The New Senpai

**Oh look, it's up one day early! **

**Chapter 14 – Utakata's Saiken & The New Senpai and Kohai **

Back in Konoha, Naruto and Kakashi were leaving the training grounds after another long week in which the jonin had once again disappeared with Sakura everyday, and Naruto had taken the time to beat some sense into Sasuke. After reading Gaara's letter, Naruto had first felt extremely paranoid. However, in mere seconds Kakashi's uncertain hand was firmly on his shoulder, and he had looked up to see the jonin ensure him that anyone who wanted Sasuke would have to take him over his own dead body. Anko had looked at them both, confused, and they had told her that they would meet with her again when the chunin exams approached.

"Naruto," Kakashi began, "exactly what did you tell Sakura that morning all those days ago? I think I may just have the most dedicated student on the planet. I also get the feeling she's feeling _extremely_ sorry for me. Every time I look at her a radiating wave of pity hits me. She radiates pity the way most hunter-nin radiate killing-intent."

"Sakura-chan has a special place in her heart reserved for brooding guys with tragic backgrounds," Naruto explained happily, "just go along with it. She knows that you spend hours every day talking to the memorial."

"I'd ask how _you _knew…" the jonin muttered, not feeling embarrassed in the slightest that his habit was known, "but in what way am I 'brooding'?..." The jonin rubbed the back of his head, "I can be perfectly friendly."

"Let her think what she likes. Trust me, once she finds an object of pity, she'll go to any length to prove herself. I mean, she went from a hopeless kunoichi with only some brains to someone who was able to help defeat Sasori of the Red Sands, all just to prove herself to Sasuke," the blond boy replied.

"I was under the assumption that she has a crush on him," Kakashi added, "and I don't know how your future plays out, but I'm more than twice her age."

"Nah, with you it's just 'he's the lonely, but powerful jonin who's still lost in the memory of the friend who sacrificed his life to save him, and I must do everything I can to show him that the present is worth thriving in'," Naruto explained, "for a while, she was like that with Gaara. Except she was also kind of scared of him at the time so she didn't try to go near him. Just make use of her determination for as long as possible. I'll take care of training Sasuke for a while. He's already displaying chunin level ability in our spars and he'll be ready for the exams soon."

"I'll leave him to you, then. I don't particularly like being pitied like that, but if you say it'll help her then so be it," he sighed heavily, "the things I do for my adorable students…"

"Yup!" Naruto put his arms behind his head as they reached the edges of the apartment compound.

"By the way, Naruto, is there a reason why all the other jonin-sensei have been giving me curious looks and asking me about you during breakfast?" Kakashi asked casually, "I get the feeling I missed something important."

"Well…I might have accidently beat Neji in a spar a while ago," ever since that day, Naruto had been carefully avoiding trainings ground four. Whenever he accidently caught sight of the Hyuga outside of training, he had been faced with a variety of death glares.

"Really? So you're not going to hide your skill anymore? That's good," the book was back in front of his face, but Naruto knew his sensei could multitask well.

"Why? Won't they be suspicious?" Naruto frowned.

"Not necessarily. You've been under _my _teaching for over a month now. They'll understand," the white-haired jonin boasted, "now if you could just beat that genin Lee in a taijutsu spar, _then _I could have something to brag about."

"Hell no," the blond boy shook his head vehemently, "even at the age of twelve, Lee is a taijutsu genius. I'm not going up against him without my kage bunshin. You have no idea what he's going to turn into."

"Really? Well, Gai will be happy. I still remember the day he first came to me with that boy, dressed in matching tights. I asked him what member of the female species he someone managed to capture, but before he could explain the boy started yelling and jumping around in joy at being mistaken for the son of his illustrious Gai-sensei."

"Kakashi-san!"

They both turned to see a tall kunoichi with long dark hair approaching them. She was dragging a man with a short beard and cigarette in mouth. She seemed to be shooting glances at Naruto even as she approached his sensei.

"Kurenai-kun. Asuma-san," Kakashi greeted, sparing a brief glace at their held hands, "good evening."

"Ah, this must be the Turn Around. Hey there, kid," Asuma leaned down, taking the cigarette out of his mouth, "we'll be borrowing your sensei for a while."

"What?" Naruto complained. They had been planning to go over the latest letter from Jiraiya with Shizune. Of course, they were currently just staying in a small village in Kaze no Kuni waiting for the chunin exams to happen so they weren't doing much, but it was always refreshing to hear of all the 'research' his shishou had been doing.

"If you're not done training for the day, go to training ground eight," Kurenai suggested, "you can keep my team company."

"Fine…" Naruto gave in. Kakashi seemed rather curious about the situation. Even though they came across each other often due to their status as jonin-sensei, Kurenai and Asuma had never actually called him out like this. It took a while, but the jonin eventually realized that they didn't really need him for anything. Kurenai, the cunning little rookie jonin-sensei, had just been trying to get Naruto, the Mystery Turn Around, to spar with her genin. He discreetly gave Naruto a raised eyebrow and let himself be dragged away.

The blond boy watched the three jonin leave, scratching the back of his head. Well, it was true that he hadn't paid team eight a visit in a while. The Ino-Shika-Cho triad was easy to spot whenever he made his way into the barbeque place near the training grounds, and Gai's team was always dutifully training in the mornings, but he had no idea how Hinata and Kiba and…that other kid were doing.

Calmly strolling back to the training grounds, Naruto felt like he was missing something important. Something was sticking in his mind, but he couldn't exactly figure it out.

Oh, right. Hinata. She had bravely confessed her love for him and died to save him from Pein. Naruto sighed, feeling a pang inside. After the attack, he had gone looking for her all over the village, but it seemed she had been carefully avoiding him, probably embarrassed to face him after what she'd done. Even though she'd probably saved his life. He bit his lip and thought back to all her stuttering over the years, each nervous 'Naruto-kun' she ever uttered. He would have liked to think something along the lines of 'I should've known!', but the truth was that he probably wouldn't have ever figured it out if Hinata hadn't come out and said it.

But he was perfectly aware of the fact that his heart was set on the kunoichi that Sakura would one day become, in the same way Sakura's heart seemed to have always been set on Sasuke. But he just wasn't the kind of person who could pretend to have feelings as deep as Hinata's. Feeling extremely guilty, Naruto resolved to both find a way to ease her out of her feelings, and make it up to her.

When he approached the training grounds, it was to see Hinata and Kiba sparring. He decided to watch for a while, and quickly hid himself in a tree.

"Ha!" Kiba dove in, "got you!"

His hand, aimed for her left shoulder, quickly found itself in thin air as the Hyuga girl spun away with jyuuken's grace. She recovered from her spin mere centimeters from her original position and thrust one palm forward to Kiba's right shoulder. Kiba, still leaning down from the position of his strike, couldn't overcome his own moment. Instead, he felt the gentle tap of Hinata's fist and the tenketsu point in his left arm closed up.

"Damn it," he moaned, "again?"

"Y-you're finished, Kiba-kun," Hinata managed to say with a small smile, "but you did b-better. I-if you were using Akamaru-kun, I don't think I would have w-won."

"Nah, you'd still beat me," Kiba grabbed a white cloth from where it was lying on the grass and rubbed the sweat off his forehead, "but give me another week and then we'll see," he shot her a toothy grin.

"I believe that was much better. Why? Because Kiba lasted almost twenty minutes," a quiet voice spoke up from where he had been watching.

For a moment, Naruto was almost flabbergasted in his tree. He had only arrived at the very end, but he had seen Hinata in action. She had never fought that well around him, and her stances had been beautiful! She had never been that good while _he_ was watching. He leapt out of his hiding spot and walked over with his hands behind his head and a bright smile on his face.

"Hey!" He yelled, waving at them, "Hinata-chan! Kiba-kun!...Shino-kun!"

"It took him a while," Shino hutched his shoulders and his face disappeared further into his wide collar, "why? Because I have a forgettable face."

"Er…Shino-kun, I don't think I've ever seen your face," Naruto admitted.

"N-Naruto-kun-" Hinata started.

"Oi! It's the Turn Around!" Kiba chuckled.

Naruto frowned, desperately hoping that moniker wouldn't stick for long.

"Kurenai-sensei sent me to train with you guys," Naruto explained. He turned to Hinata, "I watched part of your spar. That was amazing! I didn't know you were that good!"

"T-thank you, Naruto-kun," the purple-haired girl said, index fingers tapping in her typical nervous pose.

"Take him on, Hinata-chan! I wanna see you beat the Turn Around!" Kiba cheered.

"I c-couldn't. He b-beat Neji-nii-san," she said quickly. Despite her shyness, she was looking at Naruto very curiously. She knew more than anyone else how powerful Neji really was, and it was simply amazing that her Naruto had been able to beat him.

"I'm actually just here cause I'm bored," Naruto admitted, "but they took sensei away for something, and Sasuke's locked himself up in his apartment reading scrolls. Sakura's off doing errands for her parent's business. So I thought I'd spend some time with you guys," he smiled and sat down on the grass.

"Will you tell us how you managed to defeat Neji-kun?" Shino asked quickly. He was as shrewd as always…

"I heard it had something to do with the fact that he had to pee," Kiba added, plopping himself down beside Naruto, "which is something that Akamaru and I totally respect."

"I-is that true, N-Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked softly, sitting down on the other side of Kiba, "I did hear that you b-beat him in a s-spar."

"…I'm really fast when I need to pee." Naruto decided to stick with the excuse he made the first time. It sounded horrible, but since he was _Naruto _it was believable.

"Well, if Hinata doesn't want to spar, then I will," Kiba declared, "so grab some water and drink up, Turn Around, or else I'm kicking your butt!"

ooooo

Far off on the other side of the Shinobi Lands, Killer B of Kumo was standing impatiently in front of a wooden door. Over the past few weeks, he had slowly trekked across Kaminari no Kuni, staying away from civilization as much as possible. Upon reaching the ocean, he had used the money he had brought with him to pay a small sailor to take him in his boat across the water to Mizu no Kuni. Once in the other country, he was free to make his appearance among people without needing to worry about A hunting him down, and had actually had quite a good time meeting the people of Mizu and trying out new styles of enka on them.

Unlike the stuck-up people of Kaminari no Kuni, these people had giggled playfully at his rap, entertained. He had stayed a little longer than necessary in these areas. Although once remembering his mission, he had dutifully gone around asking for a place that went by 'Mount Katsuragi'. Many people hadn't actually known the place, but luckily he'd stumbled upon a small village that had.

Once he had reached the small mountain, he had painfully trekked up the precarious path that lead to the top, with Gyuuki's tentacles helping him out a few times. At the top, there was a small house surrounded by rocky areas and forest. B approved of the location; it looked like a wonderful place for a sabbatical.

He put his fist out to knock on the door again, but before he could reach it, it swung open. A small, caramel-haired girl peered out from inside.

"Yo," B greeted, giving her a little salute.

"Are you lost?" She asked, "because the nearest village is almost a kilometer away."

B stared weirdly, "nah, I wanted to come _here,_ baka yaro."

She looked a little miffed at being called an idiot, "what do you want?"

"Looking from someone named 'Utakata'. He's part of my sabbatical for enka." B declared.

Her face suddenly became very suspicious, "and what do you want with him?"

"He'll know, kono yaro. Just go ask."

She frowned, and then looked up at his Kumo hitai-ite, "well, you're not from Kiri, so I suppose it's ok…except he's not exactly feeling well right now." She opened the door further and allowed him to enter.

"Feelin down?" B asked, a little worried as he followed her into the house. The place had a single hallway, and they passed a few rooms until the girl stopped at one and pushed the tradition sliding door aside.

"Actually, he's been deadly sick for weeks now," she said, biting her lip, "if there's anything you can do to help him...please help him. He's my shishou and I don't like seeing him like this."

B entered as she moved out of the way. It was an open room, and one wall was missing to allow the outside breeze to come in. In the centre was a single futon, with various pails filled with water and cotton clothes around it. Sleeping it in was a tall, thin, sickly man. B walked over to survey him. The blanket covered him up to his waist, and he wore no shirt, with the ends of his pale blue kimono laid open near his legs. A wet cotton cloth lay over his forehead, and the skin of his face was extremely pale, with an unhealthy yellow tinge.

"He's been in horrible condition. I think he's in some sort of coma. I'm…really not an iryounin but I tried to push chakra into him to see if I could sense what was happening…I'm not sure if I made it worse…but there's something wrong with his chakra…Tonbei says he'll make it…but I'm not sure…I don't know what to do," the girl stuttered, sitting by Utakata's head. She took the cloth off and wringed it, dipping it into the pail of water again.

_Yo, Gyuuki, _B mentally nudged his bijuu, _you thinkin the same, ya fool?_

_Yes, _The giant octopus replied, _if it started a few weeks ago right when the time seal was activated like the girl says, that's probably true. There's actually a chance he doesn't actually know he's a Jinchuuriki. The chakra state he's emanating…it's the same as the chakra state of one of my previous Jinchuuriki when I was forcefully sealed into him._

_Fix him, kono yaro, _B stated, slightly less enthusiastic than he usually was.

_Let me take over, _Gyuuki instructed.

B mentally nodded and allowed his chakra to delve into the recess of his mind. He and Hachibi had been working together for so long that it was almost like second nature. As the bijuu's chakra came forth and took control of his body, he sat back to watch.

"Listen, I know what's happening with him," Gyuuki stated, turning towards the girl, "his bijuu is trying to communicate with him, but he doesn't know what's happening. So he's using all his chakra to fight it, and also using part of his life force. If he continues like this for too long, he'll eventually drain his own life force and die."

The girl gasped, "no! He can't die!" Slow tears welled up in her eyes as she looked down at the man she had apparently been nursing.

"I can fix him, but that requires breaking him first," the Hachibi went on, "I'm going to break the barrier he's forcefully put up between himself and Saiken. Once it's broken, he'll have no choice but to face the Rokubi himself. Hopefully old Saiken can get through to him and explain what's happening. He was always a smart one, he'll find a way."

"Ok. But…if he's trying to fight it, isn't it a good barrier?" She asked quietly, emanating worry for her 'shishou'.

"No. Saiken _needs _to talk to him. He just doesn't understand. He won't get better until he lowers the barrier. I'll explain the rest later. For now, I'm going to use my chakra to break the barrier," Gyuuki declared, setting his hands on Utakata's bare chest. He grimaced at the fact that his skin felt like it was on fire. The man really was draining himself.

"Be careful," the girl whispered, "I don't want him hurt. He's saved my life."

"We'll see," Gyuuki declared with a determined look, "it all depends on him and Saiken. Even if he manages to successfully communicate with his bijuu, it'll take a while for him to recover and regain the life force he drained from himself…"

The bjiuu in his jinchuuriki's body was a creature of pure chakra, and could therefore resonate with chakra itself. He easily made his way into Utakata's mindscape in his octopus form, curious to see exactly what the Kiri-nin had done to himself.

For a while, he waded through a familiar sewer. Unlike the cage in B's mind that was spacious and allowed him to see, this sewer absolutely stank. The chakra inside was compressed and clotted, almost taking up all the breathable figurative air. Gyuuki winced and felt deeply sorry for his fellow bijuu, but he knew that the human was not to blame.

Eventually, he came to the main room. It was guarded by a pair of giant iron gates that allowed only the sewer water to flow through. Gyuuki put one giant tentacle forward and pushed the gate open.

Inside was Saiken's cage, except it was not visible. In front of where the cage should have been was a giant, thick wall of chakra, glowing bright blue. Gyuuki slithered over and inspected the wall, frowning. It was possible to get though, but to create something this strong must have really drained the human. He looked around with his giant eyes to see where the human was.

At the edge of the wall, sitting with his back against it and sweating from every pore in his body, was Utakata. The poor man was struggling to breath in the chakra-infused air, hacking coughs coming straight from his figurative lungs. Long brown hair was plastered over his face, and his face was clouded over. When he raised his head to look at the giant octopus form that occupied his mindscape, his eyes were filled with pure terror. Gyuuki wasn't sure if it was for him, or for Saiken, who he was trying to keep away.

"What…" Utakata began and then trailed off as a cough rose up in his throat.

"Sorry, human," Gyuuki began, "but this is the only way."

He slithered over to the thick wall that was sustaining itself with Utakata's chakra and raised one thick tentacle, curling it up. He then used all his force to break through the wall of chakra.

The blue wall came crashing down along with a loud sound, startling Utakata to unsteady feet. The man slowly turned to see beyond the demolished wall where a giant beast waited in its cage, intelligent eyes staring directly at him.

"Don't worry," Gyuuki turned to the human man, although his words probably weren't helping, "Saiken is not so bad once you get to know him. Maybe you'll even like him."

With that, the Hachibi quickly retreated back into his own jinchuuriki's mindscape, leaving Utakata and the giant demon slug to sort things out themselves.

ooooo

Over a month later, B had settled into the mountain home nicely. The old man who owned the small mountain residence had come back to see B finish destroying the wall. At first he had been furious at the stranger who his naïve grand daughter had allowed inside, but Hotaru had quickly explained the situation. Upon hearing that and seeing Utakata's slow but sure recovery, Tonbei had gladly allowed the Kumo nin to stay in their home for as long as it took for the Jinchuuriki to awaken.

B had welcomed the change. In place of the bedridden Utakata, he had taken to teaching Hotaru the basics of chakra control. He had seen no harm in helping the cute kid become a strong kunoichi. Hotaru had quickly grown on him, and had learned to decipher his rap. Eventually she had started to find it endearing, and would clap her hands and laugh whenever he came up with a new phrase to write down.

More importantly, he had paid his rent by helping Tonbei and Hotaru drive off the hunters that came after their family's secret kinjutsu. He had respected their privacy and had never directly asked about it, but little by little, all the hunter-nin who came to search their home were _discouraged _by Killer B of Kumo's seven swords.

"Utakata-sama is slowly getting better," Hotaru said cheerfully during their dinner, "his skin has fully returned to normal, and today I saw him open his eyes for a few seconds."

"We are truly in debt to you, B-sama," old man Tonbei added from across the table, "if you hadn't come at that time, Utakata-san would have probably died."

"Awake? If he opens his eyes again, tell me and I'll give him a good shake," B replied, shoving more rice into his mouth.

Hotaru placed her chopsticks down and grinned up at him, "want to go see him now? It would be awesome if we could be there when he wakes up. Well, _actually _wakes up. Because this morning I turned around to put the water away and when I turned back his eyes were open and he was staring right at me! It was a little creepy, and he closed his eyes before I could wonder if he was really out of his coma."

"Let's go, kono yaro," B agreed wholeheartedly. He gulped down the rest of his water and stood up from the table, giving the old man a small nod.

"You still haven't told me exactly why you need him, B-sensei," Hotaru added as they walked down the hallway.

"You'll see, kid," B replied as they reached Utakata's room. The caramel-haired girl slid open the door, and froze.

Inside, Utakata looked up at her. His skin tone was back to a healthy cream, and his hair was no longer plastered against his forehead as it had been all those days ago. Moreover, he was fully sitting up in his futon.

"UTAKATA-SAMA!" Hotaru yelled, rushing into the room and throwing her arms around the unsuspecting man. Behind her, B leaned against the doorway and watched with a smile as the other Jinchuuriki tried to pry her off as gently as possible.

"Hotaru…" He muttered, "I can't breathe…"

"Oh! I'm sorry, Utakata-sama!" She quickly dislodged her arms and sat back, a bright grin on her face, "how are you feeling? I really hope your better. It's all thanks to this kind and _really _powerful oji-san!" She looked back and pointed at B.

The man looked at him curiously with brown hair falling over one eye, "you are Gyuuki, the octopus?" He asked.

"Nah, Gyuuki-kun is my bijuu. I'm a Jinchuuriki, and I'm here for you," B clarified, making his way into the room and sitting down beside Hotaru.

"I…spoke to…Saiken," Utakata began, "he told me about what happened when I was three. I remember…a few years ago my shishou tried to do something to me…but at the time I didn't realize what it was. He was trying to take Saiken away. There's a bijuu sealed inside me…he told me about the time seal," his words were a stream of consciousness.

B didn't really understand what he was saying, but the man said it as if he was revealing something great. Instead, he settled for asking about his status.

"So are you ready, kono yaro?" He asked lightly.

Utakata winced, "if you mean, am I ready to go single-handedly take down Uchiha Madara like Saiken is telling me to do, then no. I wouldn't be able to lay a scratch on him anyway. The last thing I remember is dying at the hands of one of his supposed subordinates."

"We have a plan, baka yaro. Me, and the other Jinchuuriki," B stated, "join in, will ya? You can be good with Saiken."

Utakata gave him a world-weary sigh, "it doesn't seem like I have a choice," he admitted. He threw the blankets off his thinning body and slipped into the kimono lying at his feet, tying it loosely at his waist. Hotaru frowned at how little of his sash he needed to surround himself, but it had been really hard to get nutrients into the liquids they had been forced to feed him during his coma.

"Octopus? Saiken? Bijuu?" Hotaru asked, confused, "what do you mean, Utakata-sama, B-sensei?"

"There's something I have to do, Hotaru," Utakata said absently, "I won't be back for a few years," he slowly stood up from the futon, stretching out aching joints which hadn't been moved in almost two months.

At this, Hotaru's grin began to fade away, "you're…going away, Utakata-sama? You're going to leave?" She bit her lip, "I though you were indebted to me for saving you life! You're supposed to teach me ninjutsu!" She glared at her patient.

"Hotaru…"

"People are supposed to keep their promises," the girl huffed, "and you owe me for nursing you back to health." She turned around in apparent anger, but B could see that her eyes prickled.

Utakata's eyes widened slightly and he watched her, not knowing what to do. Finally, he sighed, "don't worry," he gave her a calm smile, "you should be happy. Your shishou is going to go help save the world, after all."

At this, the girl slowly sighed, and managed to look up again. Above all, she was secretly happy that he had finally acknowledged himself as her shishou.

"Is it…really that important?" She finally asked, peering out from behind her light brown hair.

"Yes," the brown haired man replied, watching her silently.

"Then…you'll have to come right back here when you're done! I don't care how many years it takes because I'll wait for you, shishou!" She nodded firmly, hands clenched tightly with resolve.

"You've got a dedicated student, baka yaro," B commented.

"Yes," Utakata finally said. The look on his face was almost lazy, but his eyes conveyed intensity, "yes I do. And I promise I'll come back. Now come, Gyuuki's Jinchuuriki. Tell me about this plan you have…"

ooooo

"Is it really necessary for _us _to wait here too, Naruto," Sakura asked, "because neither of us have ever seen him before, nor do we care. Can't we please leave?..."

"I don't mind," Sasuke said quietly, looking away and trying not to look excited, "he _is _one of the Sannin, after all. And he's a master of fuuinjutsu," the Uchiha boy had been paying close attention to Naruto's studies, "Its…good to have contacts."

"See, even Sasuke-teme agreed, Sakura-chan! You have to stay!" Naruto pleaded.

"And I'm just here to grab my cute students and run if he does or says anything weird," Kakashi confirmed, leaning against the small wooden watch house. Inside, Izumo and Kotetsu stared at the genin and jonin of team seven curiously.

"Err…Kakashi-san, who exactly are you all waiting for?" Izumo asked curiously, peering out of the watch house.

"Ero-sennin is coming to Konoha!" Naruto burst out, "and he's gonna watch us fight in the chunin exams!"

"Ero-sennin?..." Sakura scrunched up her nose, "why do you call him that?"

"Not for you to know," Kakashi said quickly.

Gaara had long ago decided that participating in the chunin exams as Orochimaru's secret weapon was best, because otherwise he would find another weapon; one that they _didn't _already know about. Having decided that, he had gone back to Suna where he trained – beat – Kankuro and Temari to help them learn – satisfy his bloodthirst – and listened to his 'father's' plans.

Jiraiya, not needing to babysit his 'son' anymore, had disappeared to both do 'research' and find out how Tsunade and Yugito were doing. He had promised to come back to Konoha exactly one day before the beginning of the first part of the chunin exams. Which was why the sun was setting for the last time before their exams begun, and Naruto had dragged the rest of his team with him to meet his shishou.

"Yeah, I heard that you nominated your team," Kotetsu added, "must be nice to have a genin team. Bunch of bright little kids that follow your every word…"

Kakashi coughed loudly.

"But aren't they a little young for the chunin exams?" Izumo pushed, "I mean, most jonin-sensei wait at least a year before entering their genin."

"Mou…I think they're ready," Kakashi defended, "Sasuke has been at chuunin level for a while now, and I've been training Sakura to within an inch of her life. Naruto is…special," he finished.

"I've worked hard," Sakura declared proudly, "I'll punch my opponents all the way to Suna!"

"Ch," Sasuke added his two cents, "I've been ready since I was ten."

"I'll kick everyone's butts!" Naruto cheered, "cause I'm gonna be Hokage one day!"

"Well…we'll come by and see," Kotetsu said, rubbing the back of his head. Somehow he didn't seem especially convinced. He looked out of the gates to see a tall figure approaching, "hey look, kid. He's here."

Naruto followed his line to sight to see Jiraiya slowly walking towards the gates of Konoha. His face lit up in a bright smile.

"ERO-SENNIN!" he yelled, running over to the toad sage. For a moment, Jiraiya looked rather surprised to see Naruto waiting at the gates. The, he reminded himself that Naruto had probably known him a lot longer than_ he _had known _Naruto, _and reached down to pat the boy's yellow head.

"Glad to see you too, kid!" Jiraiya announced, following him and crossing over the border into Konohagakure, "how've you been?"

"I've been awesome, Ero-sennin. This is my team," he announced, waving his arm at where Sakura and Sasuke were standing.

"Um..hello," Sakura began, scratching her cheek with one finger, "my name is Haruno Sakura. It's…nice to meet you, Jiraiya-sama."

"Uchiha Sasuke," Sasuke said bluntly, "nice to meet you."

"Naruto, you should learn some manners from these kids," Jiraiya said playfully, "'Jiraiya-sama', how's that for respect?"

"Don't worry," Naruto stuck his tongue out, "once they get to know you, they'll start calling you Ero-sennin too."

"Oi!...But on that note…" Jiraiya reached into the folds of his haori and brought out a small orange book. He walked around to where Kakashi was still leaning on the edge of the watch house and held it out to the other jonin.

"A small present from me," he grinned, "Icha Icha Skill! Jio new adventures in the seductive sands of Suna. This one isn't even in print yet, but I thought I'd get the very first copy for my number one fan!" He held out the orange book to the jonin.

Kakashi's one visible eye slowly widened. With the patience of a peasant picking up a plate of gold, one hand delicately reached for the bundle of precious paper in the toad sage's hands. He seemed to have a small spasm as his fingertips first touched the edge of the book. Slowly but surely, his hand took the small book from Jiraiya's.

"Wait, he _writes _those ecchi books that Kashi-sensei reads?" Sakura asked, crinkling her nose.

Naruto seemed genuinely worried at Kakashi's stillness as he slowly retrieved the book and began to turn over the first page. "Sensei, are you alright?"

"Quiet, Naru-kun. I'm having a religious experience," Kakashi snapped. He then went on to slowly reveal the rest of the first page, eyes delving into the brand new material. Naruto looked a little put back at being abandoned for the book.

"Ero-sennin?" Sakura looked towards Sasuke.

"Ero-sennin," Sasuke nodded, agreeing readily.

ooooo

Deep in the lands of Kaze no Kuni, a few kilometers off from Sunagakure, seven figures were conducting a meeting.

Each S-rank missing-nin was standing on a finger of the body of the Gedo Mazo, the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path. Four were mere shadows, using a special Space-Time teleportation technique to transport their consciousness into the deep cave where the Jyuubi's body lay. Three were solid flesh and bone, and one wore no ring. Each one wore a long black cloak with red clouds sewn in. Four years ago, they had decided to call themselves the Akatsuki.

"We still seem to have no information on who took down Hidan and Kakuzu," Uchiha Itachi reported quietly, "Kakuzu's bounty has been claimed by an anonymous shinobi."

"That is unpleasant news," another shimmering figure stated, "but there is more." He paused.

"Sasori and Deidara are dead."

The Leader's voice was not harsh, but it had a small twinge in it, as if he was almost materializing the meaning of the sentence simply by saying it.

"They were powerful. They will not be easy to replace."

"Who managed to kill them?" Hoshigaki Kisame asked, a touch of humor in his voice, "Surely the Nibi woman couldn't have taken them both by herself?"

"No," Pein answered slowly, "Deidara was able to deliver one final message to us via one of his flying sculptures. I believe he sent it out at the beginning of the battle. There was another woman with the Nibi's Jinchuuriki. It was Senju Tsunade of the Sannin. She was the one who took down Sasori of the Red Sands."

Their newest member began to laugh slowly, voice still rasping in a throat he had just learned how to use. He grinned widely, "they should have known not to underestimate our Hime."

"I suppose you _would _know much about her, Orochimaru," Kisame replied with a smirk, "why don't we leave your Hime to you, then? Maybe you can reminisce together. You once spoke of bringing her with you, _didn't you_? Oh, and then she said no and probably punched you for good measure. I guess you're not so good with the ladies after all."

Orochimaru glared slowly, signature purple markings surrounding new eyes. He was one of the three solid figures in the room, and would have been sorely tempted to lay a hit if the Kiri missing-nin had been anything more than a shifting shape made of chakra.

"Orochimaru has a different task to perform," Pein interrupted, "he will be going to Konoha tomorrow."

"Oh! Konoha! I wanna go too!" The second solid figure in the room stated, "Zetsu-san, Zetsu-san, let's go with him!" He jumped up and down on the stone finger with excitement.

"This is not a game," Pein stated. He looked around the rest of the cave with his unique eyes, "why is he still here?"

"_I brought him with me," _the third solid figure in the room stated, peering out from giant plant appendages.

"_**Tobi is a good boy," **_Zetsu's other half rasped out.

"And that makes him qualified to join an organization of S-rank missing-nin?" Kisame deadpanned. On the stone finger beside him, Itachi raised one eyebrow.

"_There is an opening," _White Zetsu stated impassively.

"Yes! Tobi will pair up with Zetsu-san! Tobi and Zetsu-san will make the Akatsuki's Ultimate Escape Team!" The masked member said enthusiastically.

"And what good is that in an organization of hunters?" Itachi wondered absently.

"Zetsu already has a partner," Pein stated, raising an eyebrow at their newest arrival.

"Who?" Kisame wondered out loud.

"_**Me,**_" Black Zetsu replied. Somehow, Kisame didn't look completely satisfied with the answer.

"However, Orochimaru does not," Pein conceded, "you may be his partner."

"Yes! Tobi is a member of the Akatsuki! Tobi will be a loyal and obedient kohai to Orochimaru-senpai!" The newest member of the Akatsuki cheered.

Orochimaru, on the other hand, watched his new partner with growing dread. He turned back to the Leader quickly, "Pein-sama, I do not require a partner. I will complete the mission myself."

"We all work in partners. Tobi will be your partner," Pein decided, "it will also serve as…_insurance. _You have one year to complete your mission," with that, his form slowly began to waver, along with the shifting form of the woman who stood on the finger next to his.

"Welcome to the Akatsuki," Kisame said with a foreboding smile as he and Itachi disappeared next.

"Kisame-senpai is so kind!" Tobi told Zetsu, "Tobi will be fine on his own now, Zetsu-san. Orochimaru-senpai will take good care of Tobi."

The snake sannin allowed himself to slump down on his stone finger with a world-weary sigh, not sparing a glance at his new charge. He had no idea what he had gotten himself into, and a small Suna boy in a henge with white hair haunted every one of his dreams.

ooooo

"Well, this is your last chance," Kakashi declared, "once you enter this building, there's no turning back. Make your choice carefully or die regretti-"

"Move out of the way and let us in, sensei," Naruto roughly pushed him aside and stepped around the jonin, allowing his teammates to following him into the testing centre.

"I was trying to make it memorable…" the copy-nin muttered, following them in with his hands in his pockets.

They entered to see the waiting room filled with nervous genin. Most were a great deal older than them, and Naruto remembered enough to pick out the few plants that Ibiki had placed into the group. He smiled and waved when he saw Lee and Tenten rush over. Unsurprisingly, Neji had not followed them to greet Naruto, and instead remained where he was standing.

"Naruto-kun, the flames of your youth must burn brightly if Gai-sensei's formidable rival has seen you fit to join this test!" Lee burst out.

"Umm…nice to see you here," Tenten added, rubbing her head sheepishly.

"Well, that's my cue to go. Good luck, kids," Kakashi waved and left them in the building.

"Perhaps they will ask us to spar, and then we will show them the true power of our youth!" Lee went on, still giving Naruto his signature blinding smile.

"Err…are you going to introduce us, Naruto?" Sakura asked quietly, eyeing Tenten.

The older genin smiled, "my name is Tenten and this is Lee. That guy back there trying not to look at your teammate is Neji. We're students of Gai-sensei," she told Sakura, "are you two are?"

"Haruno Sakura!"

"Uchiha Sasuke."

"Well, it's rare for rookie genin to be in the exams, but there are a lot of them this year," Tenten went on, "I wish you guys the best. See you in the exams!" With that, she gave them a wave and took Lee's arm, tugging him back to where Neji was glaring a hole though the floor.

"So that's Hyuga Neji, the genin you beat in a spar," Sasuke commented, taking a good look at the Hyuga boy.

"Ah, strange things happen when I need to pee," Naruto rubbed the back of his head and dodged as Sakura tried to punch him for being vulgar, "hey look, it's Kiba and Hinata! And…Shino!"

He rushed over to the entrance to the entrance to the exam room where team eight was standing in front of two older Konoha shinobi. The two shinobi were blocking the entrance, and a small group of prospective genin had all gathered behind them.

"Just go home, brats," one of them was saying, "this isn't a place for anyone not willing to put their life on the line. And take your stupid dog with you."

"Oi! No one insults Akamaru," Kiba growled, baring his teeth at the two 'genin' blocking the entrance to the door.

"K-Kiba-kun," Hinata tried to hold him back from punching them.

Naruto immediately remembered that the two were actually Izumo and Kotetsu disguised as genin. However, there was no reason for him to actually know except…

Well, Izumo _was _wearing his signature chin-length shirt.

"Izumo-san! Kotetsu-san!" Naruto yelled rushing over to them, "so you _did _come to watch us! We won't disappoint you guys, it'll be even more intense than _your _chunin exams," he declared with his hands on his hips. Behind him, Sakura let out a soft gasp of understanding as she remembered the two chunin who had guarded the Konoha gates.

"Wait, these guys are chunin?" Kiba asked loudly. Naruto grinned. Trust an Inuzuka to spread the word.

"Yeah! They guard the gates and help keep Konoha safe from intruders," Naruto informed him.

"Uh…we have to go. Good luck, kids!" Kotetsu grabbed his partner and they both rushed for the exit, getting away from the angry mob of genin as quickly as possible.

"Ch. They were trying to weed out the weak-minded," Sasuke commented, staring at where the two chunin had stood before running off.

Naruto barely heard what he had said. He was still looking around for one face that he hadn't yet seen. Of course, during the original timeline _he _had come in a little late, but that didn't stop him from almost jumping in excitement at the fact that he was about his see his friend once again.

"Naruto, we have to go inside," Sakura startled him out of his crowd searching. He turned to see that the door was open, and the other genin were slowly streaming inside. Wordlessly, Naruto followed them in, dreading the fact that he was going to be absolutely bored for the next hour.

He chose a seat near the back, trying to be inconspicuous. Sasuke, confident bastard, was heading right to the front. Upon seeing the exams desks that were definitely made for a written exam, Sakura – who was confident in her book smarts – followed her crush to the front.

Once they were all seated, Ibiki stood at the front and began to detail their task. The moment before he began to speak, three more candidates slowly filed into the room. Gaara was playing his part perfectly. He was out of his loose travelling clothing and back in his shinobi outfit. Behind him walked Temari, one hand on her hip as she surveyed the room for a seat. Kankuro took the seat closest to the door. Naruto shoved down the instinct to yell and wave and instead gave Gaara a small nod when he made eye contact.

"Well, if everyone's here, then I'll begin," Morino Ibiki's voice filled the room, "the first part of the chunin exams will be a written test. It will be filled with questions on strategy. Some will be calculations, some will be puzzles; the aim is to score as highly as possible to gain a high team score. However," he narrowed his eyes menacingly, "if you are caught attempting to cheat three times, you will fail. You may begin."

The chunin proctors began to pass exam papers down the rows of the tables. Naruto received his and turned it around to stare at it blankly. He hadn't exactly planned on what he was going to _do _with the test. Taking one look at it was enough to convince him that he wouldn't be able to answer the questions correctly, but he knew better than to hand in an empty paper and raise suspicion.

He sighed and tapped his pencil against the desk. The chunin plants had also started to write. Five rows down, Sakura was already filling in her exam, no doubt with the correct answers. Naruto thought fondly of the secret brilliance of his teammate. Although not widely recognized, she truly was smart, only in a very traditional way. Two rows above her, Nara Shikamaru had already stopped trying to answer the questions. He had already figured out the true reason of the exam; to make them gather information. He was intelligent in a very out-of-the-box way, but inside the box, there was no one who could beat his Sakura-chan.

Beside Sakura, Sasuke had also figured out the true purpose of the exam, and was silently cursing his decision to sit at the very front where he could easily see _nobody's _paper. The Uchiha boy sighed and decided that he could at least somehow copy off Sakura form the corner of his eye.

Naruto grinned, and then picked up the pencil again, looking back down at his paper. He already knew that the questions would not be graded, so all he had to do was put down some answers and make it seem like he had done some work. This time, Hinata was not sitting next to him, so he didn't have anything to worry about.

For the next hour, he busily scribbled down answers that probably didn't even have a hint of correct-ness in them. He could almost feel the worry that Sakura and Sasuke were emanating for him, and grinned. With the last question, he'd show them.

Finally, it was time. Morino Ibiki stood up from his seat with the silence of an anbu, and every head in the room snapped up to look at him.

"Well, the written test is nearly over," he commented, "but there's one last question that I didn't add to the paper."

The silence was thick and heavy in the testing hall and they waited for him to continue.

"This tenth question is a do or die. If you answer it correctly, you will be promoted. If not, you will fail. But this is a special sort of failure, because you will never be able to take the chunin exams again," he paused and allowed the information to sink in, "you'll become what we jonin endearingly refer to as 'career genin'."

"Hey!" An older genin called out, "that's not fair! Some of us here are taking it twice, so clearly we'll have another chance!"

"I have never been an examiner at a chunin exam before," Ibiki told him impassively, "but this time, I get to make the rules. Leave or stay for the tenth question."

"Well, I'm out," one of the plants stood up and walked towards the door, "hopefully you won't get the job next year, Ibiki-san."

Nodding their assent, the other plants began to follow. Slowly, some of the older genin looked sadly at their teammates and began to follow them out. Naruto kept a close eye on Sakura.

"I'll see some of you next year," an older genin spoke up, getting up from his seat. Then Naruto saw it. The slight twitch in Sakura's shoulder.

"Are the rest of you sure you want to continue?" Ibiki asked forebodingly, looking at the thirty or so pale faces that were still at their tables. Gaara sat without moving. Temari and Kankuko sat shivering beside him. For them, it really _was _do or die. Die by little brother, that was.

Naruto saw the twitch again as Sakura considered standing up to leave for his sake. He decided that it was time. Standing up from his desk and letting the chair clash to the ground behind him, he put both hands down on his desk and glared at Ibiki.

"I'm not leaving!" He yelled, "because shinobi are _not _supposed to abandon their missions. They're supposed to face their challenges head on! So me and my teammates are staying!" Satisfied, he pulled his chair back up and sat down with a huff.

"The kid's right," a voice spoke up.

"I-if Naruto-kun is staying, then I will too," Hinata said softly.

"Yosh! I will approach this question with all the power of my youth!"

"Ch."

"I'm sitting here…and the door is all the way over there…it's too troublesome to leave."

"I'm not going back to my village without chunin status," a nearby grass nin spoke up.

"Tobi must impress his senpai!" Another voice yelled.

Naruto frowned. _Tobi…_the name sounded familiar. He snapped out of his thoughts and turned to watch Ibiki.

"Are the _thirty-two _of you _sure _that you want to take the tenth question?" Ibiki asked again.

"Yes!" Many voices replied at once.

"You won't get another chance of you fail," he pointed out once again.

"We know!" A voice yelled, "get on with it!"

Ibiki gritted his teeth and sought out the voice to plan something _special _for it's owner. Sighing, he tried once again.

"This is your last chance to l-"

"We're staying!"

"Fine! You all pass!"

The faces looked back at him curiously.

Ibiki rubbed his temples, "this was a test of courage and determination. Like the loud boy at the back said, a shinobi must never abandon a mission. He must take each challenge that comes his way. There is no tenth question, you all pass."

Slowly, wide smiles erupted from all around the room, and a few cheers were heard.

"Don't start laughing so quickly, kiddies."

A kunai whizzed in through the window and came within millimeters of a poor genin's face. Everyone in the room turned to see a grinning kunoichi standing in the window with an arm leaned on one leg. Bright purple hair spiked up around the back of her head, and a netted shirt left little to the imagination.

"Follow me, kiddies. You've got to sign the death consent form as soon as possible so that I can have some fun with you!" Mitarashi Anko yelled with a sadistic grin.

"This is Mitarashi Anko," Ibiki sighed, "she will be the proctor to the second stage of the chunin exams. She will be explaining your next task, so you can follow her. Out the _door,_" he emphasized.

Naruto sprang out of his seat with the other prospective genin and immediately made his way to the side of a certain Suna nin.

"It's nice to see you back in Konoha, Gaara," he said softly. Under the noise and excitement of the crowd around them – which Temari and Kankuro had gotten conveniently mixed into – no one else could hear his voice.

"I'm glad to see you as well, Naruto," the barest hint of a smile appeared on the future Kazekage's face, "we have much to catch up on," eyes lined in black glanced at him.

"Yeah!" Naruto grinned, "how was your trip with Ero-Sennin?"

"It was…an enlightening few weeks," Gaara began, "in which I leant far more about the female anatomy than I'd ever wished to know."

**ooooo**

**This story will not spoil anything that hasn't already been revealed in the anime. Except the fact that Obito is Madara. If you didn't know that...well suck it up cause it was spoiled for me too.**

**And with this chapter, I officially pass the 100,000 word (for the entire story) limit! Cheers all around!**


	15. The Forest & the Ultimate Escape Artist

**Hooray for one-day updates!**

**Chapter 15 – The Forest of Death & The Ultimate Escape Artist**

"Alright then, kiddies. Here are the rules," Anko began, hands on her hips. Half the genin were paying rapt attention to her instructions, and the other half was paying rapt attention to her shirt.

"Each team has one scroll, either heaven or earth. To pass, you need to get through the forest with both scrolls. How? I'll let you figure that out. Are all the death consent forms handed in? Good." The sadistic smile never left her face. She walked over to Naruto, who was slowly inching away.

Unfortunately, she got to him before he could escape into the small crowd.

"Hey look, it's Kakashi's kid," she licked her lips, "I heard some interesting things about you yesterday, brat. Let's see if you can survive."

Naruto looked around nervously as every genin's eyes suddenly fell on him. He gulped, realizing that he was now a prime target. If he didn't come up with a plan quickly, every prospective genin in the forest was going to be after him. Trust Anko-sensei to make everything worse. He had heard about her little meeting with Kakashi and Shizune while he had been out sparring with Sasuke; but he wasn't sure exactly what they had discussed. He hadn't had time to question his sensei about it since he had to leave early, and Shizune was now a busy member of the Konoha Shinobi Infirmary.

"Naruto baka! Why'd you have to get everyone's attention!" Sakura said in a harsh whisper as she pulled her orange teammate back, "we're trying for stealth here!"

"It's not my fault if that scary Anko-sensei found me interesting!" Naruto whined. He looked down at the Earth Scroll that was held tightly in Sasuke's hand. Then he looked across the sea of genin to Temari's hand, which was curled around another Earth Scroll. Slowly, and idea began to form in his mind.

"Now get your butts in there and start dying!" Anko shouted, promptly the scared genin to rush into the forest. Immediately upon arrival, each team shot off in a different direction, not wanting to start their forest trek with a battle. They all knew that it was much better to start the fighting later, and wait for all the prospective opponents to grow tired from fighting others. Sakura took the lead and leapt off to the right, with Sasuke following closely and Naruto bringing up the rear.

He bit his lip and frowned. He trusted Kakashi to have found some way to deal with Orochimaru and keep them out of their way, but he was still paranoid. If anyone got within three meters of Sasuke, he was determined to go all out.

The three of them eventually settled in a hiding spot that Sakura had found. It was a groove into the ground behind a thick oak tree that just managed to fit all three of them. Sasuke looked a little miffed at being pressed up so closely to Naruto, but Sakura didn't seem to mind her position next to the Uchiha boy at all.

"Listen," Naruto spoke up, "I think we should team up."

"We _are _teamed up, dobe," Sasuke deadpanned, "unless you planned to run off on your own, which would have _not _ended well for any of us."

"No, I mean, with another team," Naruto explained.

"Oh, like with Hinata and Kiba and Shino?" Sakura asked, nodding. It seemed that she had been watching the scrolls everyone had, because team eight was the only other rookie team that had an Earth Scroll. Sometimes, her observation skills really came in handy.

"Well…kind of," he let her believe it, "and I know approximately where they'll be. Follow me."

"If you get us trapped dobe…" Sasuke let the threat hang.

Naruto simply smiled and stood up from behind the oak, turning in the general direction the other team had left. He put his fingers together to form the clone seal.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

His teammates watched curiously as seven clones popped into existence.

"You three," Naruto pointed to the three on the right, "you go find the other team. If you see…anyone dangerous dispel immediately so I'll know their location. You four," he pointed to the others as the three clones shot off with their orders, "follow us from the trees and dispel if you sense any danger."

Sasuke watched the last four clones hide themselves in trees nearby, "ch, that's a good use for clones."

"Yup!" Naruto said happily, "come on, they'll keep us from being ambushed," with that, he rushed off in Gaara's direction, clones watching from the trees.

"Er…Naruto, I think Hinata's team actually went the other way," Sakura pointed out five minutes later, "but I could be wrong."

"Just trust me, Sakura-chan. We're going the right way," Naruto soothed. None of his hunter clones had dispelled themselves yet, which meant that Orochimaru was _probably _not in the forest. One of the clones that was keeping watch had dispelled at the sight of another team watching them pass by, but mind-games had played their part. Seeing a three person rookie genin team travel completely openly was…unnerving to prospective opponents. They would expect them to cower and hide. Seeing them out in the open meant that they had reason to be there. And so the other team hadn't attacked and had stayed hidden in the trees to look for another opening.

Eventually, after almost an hour of travelling with the occasional rest, Naruto reached a clearing. The smell of fresh blood convinced him beyond doubt that he was in the right place.

Behind him, Sakura and Sasuke stopped in horror. Naruto felt hands grab at the back of his shirt as both his teammates tried desperately to get him out of the clearing. Naruto could generally understand their sentiments. In front of him, in the middle of the clearing, sand was everywhere. In it's midst were three figures. Two were holding hands for comfort and trying their best not to vomit, and between them stood Gaara, impassive as ever. Around them were three bodies, strewn in a circle where they had clearly attempted to ambush the Suna nin and had been crushed in sand.

"N-Naruto," Sakura whispered harshly, "I thought you were going to send your clones out to avoid danger!"

"Step back Naruto, they don't even have a heaven scroll!" Sasuke whispered from his other side, eyeing the Earth Scroll in Kankuro's hand.

"Hey there, Suna genin!" Naruto waved happily with a large grin, "I'm here to propose a plan."

"Um, do you not see the bloodied bodies lying around us?" Kankuro asked carefully, "because they're right there. In case I needed to point that out," he slowly pointed at an older Konoha genin on the ground.

"Don't worry. None of them are actually dead," Gaara said with an emotionless look, "only injured."

"…which is something that greatly confuses us," Temari admitted, sharing a worried look with her other sibling.

"We've got an Earth Scroll too," Naruto pointed at the scroll in Sasuke's hand, "so we were wondering if we could team up with you to get Heaven scrolls….but it seems like you already have on," he scratched the back of his head sheepishly and looked at the injured and unconscious Konoha genin.

"No," Gaara said bluntly, "they had an Earth Scroll."

"Y-you didn't even check?" Kankuro asked slowly, looking at his brother in mute horror.

"Er…Gaara, are you feeling alright?" Temari asked, getting more confused by the second.

"It seems that some Konoha genin are going to help me validate my existence," Gaara rasped out, "let them."

"Awesome! Come on Sakura-chan, Sasuke-teme, we've got allies," Naruto took both his teammate's arms and pulled them forward to acknowledge the new alliance.

"Naruto what do you think you're doing?" Sasuke asked in a whisper, "they're from _Suna_."

"…which is currently allied to Konoha," Naruto replied softly, "listen, remember when Kashi-sensei told us that luck is a type of skill? Well having the right allies is a type of skill too. Just trust me, ok? I know what I'm doing."

One of the more important reasons why he was insistent on getting the Suna team's help was to keep Sasuke safe. Gaara was someone who could easily slip into Kage level sand techniques without looking too suspicious, since his true abilities were a mystery even to his siblings. Naruto, on the other hand, did not have that liberty. Half his jutsu were only at genin level, and the other half were ridiculously overpowered and flashy, like Sage Mode's Rasenshuriken. It seemed that Gaara had figured out his plan, because the boy had accepted easily.

"You'd better know what you're doing," Sakura muttered. However, the death grip she had on his upper arm was slowly released. Over the past few weeks after news of the 'Mystery Turn Around' had gotten out, she'd come to see him as a wild card. To some extent, he was longer the orange idiot she had first regarded him as.

Their 'alliance' was more of a helping hand from Suna than anything else. As they crept though the Forest of Death, Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke, Temari, and Kankuro stayed a few meters behind while Gaara lead with his sand posed menacingly in the air. Instead of hiding like all the other teams, they were literally hunting.

"So…you're from Suna?" Sakura was the first to speak after the heavy silence they had walked in for almost half an hour. The other teams were well hidden, determined not to tire themselves out in battle, and Gaara was beginning to grow impatient in his hunting.

"Er…yeah," Temari replied hesitantly, "and…who's your teammate?" She looked towards Naruto.

"Uzumaki Naruto," he introduced himself with a grin. He then turned back to watch Naruto, leaving the different teammates to bond. Frankly, he rather liked Temari, and Kankuro was ok.

"Is he really powerful?" Temari whispered near Sakura so no one else would be able to hear.

"Well, he's gotten ok…" Sakura whispered back, "why do you ask?"

At this point, Sasuke had joined the whispering group, and Naruto continued in front pretending to not hear them.

"Because Gaara would never _ally _himself with anybody!" She replied in a harsh whisper, "he kills people for fun!"

Sasuke frowned further, "so…he would have killed Naruto?"

"Yeah. I don't know what's up with that kid," Kankuro joined their small discussion, "it's kind of amazing that Gaara hasn't even _tried _to kill him. Then again, he did apparently offer to 'validate his existence'. Is that all we really needed to do to convince him not to kill us?..."

"Maybe…" Temari shrugged, "I have no idea what goes on in that head of his."

"I found some," Gaara's voice came from up front, and sand suddenly rushed around them. Sasuke and Sakura leapt into action to watch each other's blind spots, but Temari and Kankuro didn't even wince, having gotten used to their brother's actions long ago.

Three meters in front of them, Naruto frowned and ran up to stand beside Gaara. In front of them was a small clearing, and the remains of a pack was strewn across the ground. One genin was already caught in the sand, while two others cowered back behind the bed of sand.

"Wait. Move the sand, I think I recognize them," he instructed, putting a hand on Gaara's shoulder.

The red haired boy frowned but did as he asked, raising his arm and allowing his sand to fall away from its victim. On the ground was a shivering girl with short black hair. The moment the sand stopped crushing her, she leapt up and retreated to stand beside her two teammates. A hitai-ite wrapped around her forehead revealed her to be from Kusagakure.

Naruto looked at both her partners, and then frowned. One was that boy…Shiore. The Kusa genin who's form Orochimaru had taken. With the way Kurama ranted about the resilience of time, it was entirely possible that it had happened again. He looked toward the third member of the Kusa team. It was a rather short boy with cropped black hair and bright green eyes. Naruto squinted at him, but he couldn't remember who the boy had been. He didn't even look like the third member of the kusa team had looked in Naruto's memories. Although, they weren't very reliable since it had been so long.

"Gaara, be careful of Shiore. He was the one Orochimaru took over," Naruto whispered softly, removing his hand from the boy's shoulder as the rest of his team ran up to see what was happening.

Gaara nodded. He narrowed his eyes and brought his sand back up. Each particle slowly rose to chest level until there was a field of thin sand ready to strike, "you have a Heaven Scroll," he rasped, "hand it over or give your blood to my sand."

Naruto unconsciously took a small step away. He really was good at staying in character.

"Take it!" Shiore yelled, nervous fingers fumbling in his coat to bring the scroll out. After seeing the Suna nin almost crush his teammate to death, he decided it would be much wiser to simply give it up and try to take two scrolls from other teams. He took out the scroll and held it in front, about to throw it. The Kusa girl beside him held on to his other sleeve nervously and made no attempt to stop him. She had felt the full power of Gaara's sand, and knew that she had no chance against him.

However, just as Shiore was about to throw the scroll, the green-eyed boy beside him grabbed it from his hand.

"No." He stated.

"Oi Tobi, give it up! We can't face someone like that!" Shiore whispered to him harshly, tugging at the scroll.

"He's right, please let's try fighting someone else," the girl insisted, trying to help Shiore pull the scroll from the boy's hands.

"No," the boy said again, challenge in his bright green eyes.

Realizing that their teammate was too stubborn for his own good, and that Gaara would kill them all if they stayed any longer, Shiore and the girl shot one last look at the boy and leapt away, escaping as quickly as possible.

Gaara's sand immediately surrounded the boy, hovering threateningly in the air, "your teammates were clever," he said in a low tone, "you should leave the scroll."

"Tobi must impress his senpai," the boy replied. His face looked for all the world like that of the stubborn little boy he was impersonating, but Gaara could sense something deeper. He had the feeling that the boy was almost…amused. As if he was mocking them. The future Kazekage frowned and raised one hand. Shiore had clearly run away, so he couldn't have been Orochimaru's disguise. However, it could be this boy…

"Sabaku Sousou."

Meanwhile, Naruto was thinking. There had definitely not been anyone named Tobi during his chunin exams, this boy was an extra. However, the name was vaguely familiar…

For some reason, it seemed to be connected with bad memories. Naruto mentally went though any subordinate of Orochimaru that he had seen, but there was no Tobi among them. He took another brief look at the boy's green eyes, which were certainly memorable, but if he was an enemy he was probably under henge anyway. Tobi…Tobi…

Suddenly a sense of foreboding crept up on him. Snippets of a battle rose in his mind. A battle that he had fought against a single person, along with all the rest of the Konoha rookie nine…one that hadn't been won. He remembered the man standing on the tree and each of them had gone in with both distractions and attacks. All the while, the figure had stood on the branch, seemingly not even disturbed as he made humorous small talk. Naruto remembered driving Rasengan into him, and remembered watching the figure stand up completely unperturbed, continuing to make his jokes.

The figure in the Akatsuki cloak who had once stood up to Kakashi and the Rookie Nine and hadn't taken a single hit.

The foreboding grew, and Naruto tried to squash it down, watching as Gaara's sand formed his Sousou around the boy. Tobi was a slightly common boy's name. There were other people named Tobi in the world. Maybe he really just was an overconfident genin.

"Haha, the sand can't catch Tobi!"

All doubts in his mind were immediately erased as he looked up to see the boy safely out of the Sousou, standing on a branch nearby. He had been watching _very _closely, and the sand had _definitely _surrounded him. There were no gaps in the sand where he could have broken out. One moment he had been inside, and the other moment, he had been…outside. Just like he had once come out of the head-on collision course of Naruto's rasengan.

"Gaara," Naruto yelled, "get back!" He pulled the boy's sleeve with desperation clear in his eyes. Thankfully the Suna boy took his advice and stepped back, although he looked slightly confused. They turned to see that Sasuke, Sakura, Temari, and Kankuro were all standing and watching in confusion. Naruto grabbed Temari's arm with one hand and Sasuke's waist with the other, not caring that he was hurting them as he pulled them away from the disguised Akatsuki member.

"Oi Naruto-" Sasuke managed before Naruto almost knocked the wind out of him with the pressure he was using to grip him around the waist. Gaara, sensing his fear, quickly brought his hands up and allowed his sand to pick up Sakura and Kankuro even as they screamed and struggled. He followed the blond boy and he ran, stumbling, away from the clearing.

Behind them, the green-eyed boy was watching curiously. For a second, intelligence appeared in his eyes as he analyzed the suffocating fear in the air, saving it to think about later. When that second was over, he grinned, called it a battle won, and turned around with his scroll still in hand to find his teammates.

Naruto didn't stop running, dragging the two genin behind him, until they were a good five minutes away from where the green-eyed boy had stood. Then, he almost collapsed from shaking knees, looking around to see if the boy had followed. If he and Gaara had been by themselves, he may have even entertained the idea of fighting the Akatsuki member. He had the future Kazekage by his side, and without anyone around he would've been able to use bijuu mode. However, since he knew that Sasuke was a target, he was determined to take _no _risks when it came to his friend.

"Naruto! What on earth was that for!" Sasuke yelled at his teammate, trying to get branches and leaves out of his clothing from where they had crashed into every bush in their path.

Temari dislodged his hand from its death grip around her arm and looked at him for an explanation.

"Um…Kakashi-sensei warned me about him," he explained, "he said not to fight him _ever._"

"That kid didn't _look _that strong," Kankuro muttered, slowly getting down from where Gaara was lowering him. Sakura, having also been swept up by the sand, was watching Gaara suspiciously.

"It's not that he's strong," Naruto made up, "it's that apparently he can do something to us that's really bad. And Kakashi-sensei told me to run if I ever saw him," he finished. The excuse was lame, but the worry in his eyes was real as he looked towards Sasuke and Sakura. Both his teammates softened a little as they realized his first priority had been to save them.

"Why did _you _run, Gaara?" Kankuro asked hesitantly.

"I cannot trap him within my sand," Gaara rasped, "he uses some technique to escape when I try. I cannot fight him."

Having always seen Gaara as the strongest person they knew, second only to the Kazekage, both Temari and Kankuro shivered in fear as they thought of a person who even their little brother would not take on.

ooooo

When Mitarashi Anko reached her apartment, she found Hatake Kakashi waiting for her as they had planned. The place was close to the training grounds, and an easy location to meet in without being overheard.

"How was it?" He asked immediately. He was sitting at her breakfast table, book in one hand.

"The target you told me about doesn't seem to be Orochimaru's disguise anymore. That boy Shiore is just a normal Kusa genin. His other teammates didn't seem very suspicious. I couldn't catch them in place to detect for henge, though. However, Sasuke seems to have teamed up with the Suna boy's team. So he'll be fine," she sat down opposite from him, "I also got your little Naruto-kun some attention from the other teams so that he'd be a prime target. As long as there are lots of people around them, Orochimaru won't attack. He's still weak, and that Gaara boy alone would be enough to at least keep him busy until reinforcements arrive," she explained, "of course, your kids'll have to fight, but at least they won't be killed. Probably."

Kakashi relaxed, "as long as they're not up against Orochimaru, they'll be fine," he told her, "so who's going to meet them in the tower?"

"Umino Iruka volunteered," Anko reported, picking up a dango from a plate nearby. Judging from the fact that there were only two more, Kakashi seemed to have helped himself.

"The man seems to really like Naruto-kun," she commented, "it's surprising, because of _that_."

"Naruto has a way of bringing people to his side," Kakashi replied, "people resist, but they eventually get sucked into his vortex of orange-ness."

"I see…" Anko trained, throwing away the empty dango stick, "well, I'm not one to judge. I think he's an interesting kid."

"I suppose I should go, then. Remember, don't take your eye off Sandaime-sama for a second when the third task begins," he reminded her, standing up to leave.

"Yes, yes, the old man will be fine. _I_ think you should have another," Anko suggested, pointing to the plate.

Kakashi sighed at the blatant attempt to see his face, "I should warn you that I eat with the same speed of my shunshin. Your eyes are nowhere near fast enough."

"Well, you're no fun…" Anko sighed.

ooooo

"Are you _sure,_ Gaara?" Naruto asked, looking at the scroll his teammate was holding out.

"Take it," Gaara rasped, "I am repaying you for warning me about that boy," he thrust the Heaven Scroll into Naruto's hands. Behind him, Temari and Kankuro's face held mirrored looks of utter confusion. Three older Konoha genin lay on the ground nearby, unconscious but not dead. They were currently located right in front of the central tower. The three other genin had been trying to sneak in with a set of two full scrolls, and Gaara had caught them in his sand just as they had been about to run inside. Without a moment's pause, the red haired boy had handed over the Heaven Scroll to team seven.

There was another reason why Gaara was staying back in the forest. Naruto hadn't had time to tell him who the green-eyed Tobi had really been, but if he truly was strong, then it would be dangerous to allow the other Konoha genin anywhere near him. At least until the Konoha eleven were safely out of the forest, Gaara planned to go back in and keep an eye on the Kusa team.

Naruto grinned and grasped the scroll, "thanks, Gaara. We'd better see you in the tower soon," he stated.

"Um…we really appreciate it, Gaara-kun," Sakura spoke up, surprised that someone who she had witnessed almost commit murder would be so nice to them.

"Ch. I'll see you in the finals," Sasuke stated, looking at Gaara and Temari in turn.

Naruto waved goodbye as the Suna team headed back into the forest to search for more prey, and then turned to face his teammates.

"See, I told you having the right allies was a skill," he boasted, "now we'll be the first team to get inside!"

"That Suna nin was strong. I want to fight him." Sasuke stated, following Naruto inside the tower. Coming from the gloomy Uchiha, it was practically a declaration of love.

"We'll see…" Sakura muttered, turning back to look once more at where the other team had disappeared before following her teammates into the tower. When they reached the top, Naruto took out their Heaven Scroll and Sasuke took out the Earth Scroll.

"Now we open them," he stated, unfurling the paper. Beside him, Sasuke did the same.

All three leapt backward as they faced a suddenly cloud of chakra.

Looking to the side, Naruto was pleased to see that Sakura and Sasuke had immediately gone into defense upon seeing the summoning. Since she hadn't opened either scroll, Sakura was standing behind the other two, drawing a kunai to protect their backs. Sasuke took his stance in front, covering Naruto's right side.

When the cloud of chakra cleared, one Umino Iruka was standing in front of them, having been summoned from the scrolls.

"Congratulations!" He grinned widely, "you pass! Wait, how long has it been?" He looked down at his watch and his eyes widened.

"What…four hours?...how on earth…we've got to go see Kakashi-san!" He grabbed all three genin and disappeared.

ooooo

After exiting Anko's place, Kakashi headed for the chunin exam center to meet his team. He wasn't particularly worried about them; Naruto had told him that team seven had originally taken quite some time to exit. However, with Gaara's help they would probably be out much sooner, and he didn't want to miss seeing his cute students pass the second task.

Just as he opened the door to the centre, a breathless Umino Iruka had been about to slam it open. Kakashi's eyes widened and he swerved just in time to avoid bashing heads with him, looking back to see the chunin teacher stumble.

"Kakashi-san!" Iruka yelled after he straightened, "they made it! They did it in four hours!" He stood up with a ridiculous grin on his face.

"Four hours?..." The jonin stepped around him to enter the center. Three grinning students stood in the middle of the room, all desperately needing baths, but in one piece. Along with them was jonin Shiranui Genma, proctor of the third task. He was chewing his senbon and smiling at the excited kids surrounding him.

Naruto waved two opened scrolls excitedly, "look! We passed!"

"It's true, Kakashi," Genma said, shifting the senbon to the side of his mouth, "somehow, your team made it. Turns out those rumors about the Turn Around have some merit after all."

"Mou…" Kakashi forced himself to stop looking so happy and settled back into his lazy look. After all, Naruto _was _actually a seventeen year old with A-rank jutsu up his sleeve and lower jonin level taijutsu, and they had gotten help from the future Kazekage, "you beat my record by fifteen minutes. You were an hour too late to beat the record of the legendary Sannin, though. Jiraiya-san may not be happy with that."

"Why on earth are we comparing them to the Sannin?" Iruka demanded, "Naruto's team did it in _four hours, _you should be proud!"

"I am proud. Very proud." Kakashi deadpanned.

"Kashi-sensei is _really _proud of us, Iruka-sensei," Sakura explained, "he just doesn't like showing it."

"If you were my team I'd be taking you out for five star sushi right now!" Iruka beamed.

"Ramen is fine, Kashi-sensei," Naruto hinted, "we really don't want you to delve _too _deeply into your vast collection of riches."

Iruka looked a little confused.

"Sensei took down an S-rank missing-nin and collected his bounty," Sasuke explained, rubbing his head and looking like he desperately wanted to head to his apartment and soak in the bath.

"Nevertheless, no other teams are out right now, and in a few hours it'll be dark out. Genma-san, what should they do?" Iruka asked the proctor.

Shiranui Genma looked at the three kids in front of him curiously. They really hadn't planned for a team to finish this early. There had been one very promising team of older genin, but apparently they had been ambushed as they were approaching the tower.

"Well," he began, "with the amount of genin that miraculously managed to survive Ibiki-san's test-"

"Because of me!" Naruto yelled helpfully.

"…we have more genin than we expected. That means we'll probably have a preliminary match before the third task, which will start after the time for the second task runs out. As your present for having finished so early, you three can leave and go home. Take the time to train so that you're ready for the preliminaries," he stated.

"Yeah!" Naruto and Sakura both fisted the air with equal bright grins.

"Ch." Sasuke attempted to play it cool, but a small smile tugged at his lips.

"However," Genma continued, "you won't be allowed any contact with Kakashi-san, and we advise that you three stay together to avoid suspicion. We don't want you to have any extra mentoring before the preliminaries begin, because that just wouldn't be fair."

"Eh? But I live with sensei!" Naruto protested.

"Well find somewhere else to stay," the jonin proctor retorted, "now shoo. Kakashi-san, please don't try to make any contact with them."

"Leave the ducklings to learn to fly on their own. Got it," Kakashi nodded and moved out of the way as his three students left the examination centre.

The moment they were out in the breeze, Naruto realized that after spending hours hiding in the dirt and crashing into trees, they were absolutely filthy.

"Oi Sasuke, walk faster. We all need baths," he said roughly, one hand pushing the Uchiha boy to speed up.

"What does that have to do with me walking faster?" Sasuke demanded, skidding his feet.

"Cause there's only one shower in your place, and the longer it takes to get there, the longer we'll have to wait," Naruto explained.

"What? You're all going to come to _my _apartment?" The Uchiha boy looked slightly shocked at the prospect of visitors.

Sakura blushed profusely, "well…my parents actually aren't expecting me home until the end of the second task…and I don't have our house key on me…" She shuffled her feet.

"And I just got kicked out of Kashi-sensei's place for the next few days, which is where I live," Naruto pointed out, "so yeah, we're staying with you."

Sasuke went still and looked at both his teammates in horror.

ooooo

"Oi, teme! How long does it take for you to scrub a little bit of dirt off?! Get out here so we can start planning how to train!" Naruto banged against the door of Sasuke's bathroom, grinning when he heard a muffled groan among the running water inside.

"Naruto-baka! Can't you let him take a shower in peace?" Sakura asked, arms crossed over a plain white shirt while her kunoichi outfit dried out on the balcony with Naruto's orange jumpsuit. As soon as they had come in, Naruto had declared himself the first to bathe and had run into Sasuke's shower before the Uchiha boy could do anything to stop him. Sakura had awkwardly invited herself in and had sat down at the breakfast table twiddling her fingers while Sasuke glared daggers at the bathroom door.

At that time, Naruto had emerged wearing nothing but underpants and had told Sakura that she could go next, using the universal 'ladies first' rule. Sasuke had glared daggers at his back when he had disappeared into the balcony to hang his wet jumpsuit, and then had helped himself to Sasuke's clothes. Sakura, worried about imposing herself, had cleaned up in record time and had found clothes laid out for her by Naruto.

"He's been in there for almost twenty minutes! He'll be red all over by now!" Naruto protested, "we have to start training so that we'll be strong enough to face the third task!"

"And we have to do this at ten o'clock?" She raised an eyebrow, "it's almost completely dark outside!"

"Well…we would have been able to if Sasuke didn't need his beauty soak," Naruto huffed. He was getting rather paranoid about Tobi being in the exams. If either Sasuke or Sakura came up against him, he had no idea what he would have to do. The most he could manage in such short time was to train them to be able to survive against him for as long as they could before he could save them.

The door to the bathroom that Naruto had been leaning on burst open, and the Uchiha boy emerged from inside dressed in his Uchiha clan clothing, and wearing an annoyed expression on his face.

"I'm out, happy?" He grunted, pushing Naruto to the side with a towel still on his head.

"Oh! He's not red," Naruto commented.

"Of course not!" Sasuke retorted, "I don't put the heat to the very highest like you do! In a few years you're going to be _permanently _red!" His Uchiha pride was the only thing that prevented him from mentioning the cost of all the hot water that had been used.

"Sasuke-kun, sorry for making you wait," Sakura bit her lip.

"Ch," the boy replied, throwing the towel off his wet head and heading to the table. Naruto and Sakura followed him and seated themselves opposite to him.

"So, teme, what you eat around here?" Naruto asked curiously.

Sasuke glared. But when the two faces of his teammates who hadn't eaten since breakfast looked back at him, he sighed.

"It's too late to get dinner from outside. There's some rice, and rice seasoning if you like," he conceded.

"Yay! I'm starved," Naruto declared, making his way into the kitchen.

"I haven't eaten all day," Sakura followed him, "even rice with seasoning sounds heavenly right now. I'll get you a bowl too, Sasuke-kun."

An hour later, three empty bowls sat stacked on top of each other in the sink, and three satisfied genin sat at the table.

"I think we should make a training schedule," he started once they had all finished eating, "I don't know how the next task will play out, but so far they've been testing our knowledge and teamwork."

Naruto figured that this was as good a time as any to warn them of the danger that was Tobi of the Akatsuki. He adopted a more serious expressed, and when he spoke his voice was carefully low.

"Sasuke, Sakura-chan. There's something that I have to tell you," he began, "and it's really important, so listen carefully, ok?"

The other two seemed the worry that was emanating from their suddenly serious orange teammate and mirrored his expression.

"What is it?" Sasuke asked sharply, eyes narrowing, "is it about that Kusa boy that you ran from?"

Naruto bit his lip, "yeah, it's about him. You see, when I became Ero-Sennin's student, I learnt a little about what exactly he does on his travels."

"Writes ecchi and visits onsen?" Sakura put out.

"No, he has a more serious job. He keeps an eye out for the members of a certain…organization," Naruto responded hesitantly. He couldn't deny that he really wanted them to know about the Akatsuki. One day, they would become strong enough to help him cut down their numbers, but for now they should at least be awake of its existence.

"The name of the organization is the Akatsuki," he began, "and every one of their members is a ridiculously powerful S-rank missing-nin."

His teammate's eyes widened, and he couldn't blame them. At their age, the strongest missing-nin they had ever heard of though rumors were A-rank. S-rank was something too far above to even consider for a mere genin. But soon they would be thrown into it, and they needed to be prepared early on. There was one last thing that would cement the seriousness of the situation.

"Sasuke," he turned to the Uchiha, "your older brother, Uchiha Itachi, he is a member of this organization."

Sasuke's eyes widened, "my…brother? An organization that could hire _my brother _exists?"

"Yeah. And your brother probably isn't even the strongest among them," he went on despite Sasuke's shocked expression, "you can recognize them by long black cloaks with red clouds on them. These are the people that Ero-Sennin keeps tabs on while he travels. The reason I wanted to tell you this is because…Ero-Sennin detected an Akatsuki member who is currently inside Konoha. And his name is Tobi."

"Wait, that boy?" Sakura's green eyes were wide with shock, "he's a member of the Akatsuki?"

"Yeah. He's obviously under a henge, though. I just wanted to warn you to watch out for him. Ero-Sennin says that he never actually attacks and he always jokes around, but if he's in the Akatsuki, then he's strong," Naruto finished.

"If he's as strong as my brother, then I want to fight him-"

"NO!" he slammed his hands down on the table as he yelled, "Sasuke, they're after you! They want to take your Sharingan! If you fight them, you'll be playing right into their hands!"

Sasuke and Sakura looked silently at their teammate who was almost shaking in anger. They had never before seen Naruto like this. They now knew that when he got angry, the whisker marks on his face stood out against his skin, and his eyes widened until they were almost round.

"N-Naruto, it's ok," Sakura soothed, getting up to slowly put a hand on his arm. She didn't realize when exactly she had started to care about her crazy orange teammate, but somehow she did.

"Fine. Then I'll just have to get stronger first," Sasuke conceded, looking worriedly at his teammates, "you don't have to worry about me so much," he said in a quieter tone. Despite Naruto's obliviousness, he had been _noticing _things. He had especially noticed that while they traveled in the forest, Naruto had glanced his way almost every minute. As if he was making sure he was still there.

"That's right, Naruto. But I think…shouldn't you tell the examiners?" Sakura bit her lip.

"Anko-sensei is the only one who knows that there would be an Akatsuki member in Konoha, although Ero-Sennin told her that it would probably be Orochimaru, his traitor teammate and Anko-sensei's sensei. I think she checked everyone before the second task, but she must have missed him," Naruto replied, calming down, "we have to find her tomorrow morning and tell her about it."

"But…" Sakura's eyes widened, "the others! Hinata and Kiba and Shikamaru and Ino and…they're all still in there! With an S-rank missing-nin!" She suddenly began to panic.

"Don't worry," Naruto assured, "Gaara doesn't know who Tobi is, but he's going to keep an eye on him until the others were out. He's really powerful, and to fight him properly Tobi will probably have to reveal himself. If he's gone to the trouble of wearing a disguise, then he probably won't want to raise suspicion to himself by fighting openly."

"Ch. That's why the Suna boy gave us the Heaven Scroll. He needed to stay inside and keep watch on the Akatsuki member," Sasuke observed, "it seems that you did find a good ally…"

"Yup! Gaara is really cool!" Naruto replied, slowly edging out of his serious mode. Telling his teammates about the Akatsuki took a large weight off his back. Now that he knew they would both be on alert, he didn't feel as paranoid. Even as genin, his teammates were formidable. Sasuke was already at chunin level, and Sakura's intelligence could get her out of many tough situations if she didn't allow her nerves to get in the way.

"Well, it's almost midnight. We should probably get some sleep so we can wake up early tomorrow to train," Sakura commented, "do you have any extra blankets to make a futon in the sitting room, Sasuke-kun?" They were all aware that it was too late in the night for her to return to her house. Kunoichi or no, she would fall asleep before she got there.

"Sakura-chan can have the bed," Naruto declared, "right Sasuke?"

"Just wait a minute!" The Uchiha boy spluttered, "I'm already letting you in here, I'm n-"

"He agrees," Naruto said loudly, "good night, Sakura-chan! Sasuke and I will camp out in the sitting room, it'll be like a slumber party!"

Sakura looked like she was going to faint from happiness at being able to sleep in the same bed as Sasuke had, "thanks, Sasuke-kun! Good night, Naruto," she waved happily and then retreated to the small apartment's single bedroom. The apartments in the compound all had two bedrooms, but Sasuke had put a bed in one of them, and modeled the other into a workroom with all his books and weapons.

Once Sakura had disappeared, Naruto grinned. His Sasuke was already showing a great deal more patience and acceptance than the Sasuke of the future, who would have already gone mad and kicked them both out. Slowly, he was allowing them into his life, and that could only be a good thing. And if he didn't want them there, Naruto was determined to force their presence upon him until he relented.

"Alright, teme, where'd you keep your extra blankets?" Naruto demanded, standing up and looking around with his arms on his hips.

Sasuke looked back with the eyes of someone who had just been though too much pain in life.

ooooo

"Orochimaru-senpai! Tobi passed the test!" The green-eyed boy slowly revealed his henge and once again became the masked Akatsuki member.

Although Tobi had been there from the beginning of the exams, Orochimaru had only arrived recently as the Kazekage in order to watch the one-on-one battles that comprised the third task. Tobi had burst into the room Konoha's Sandaime Hokage had graciously provided for the 'Kazekage', to find the disguised Orochimaru pouring over scrolls with a brush in one hand and long while hair pouring over one shoulder.

The snake sannin looked up and raised an eyebrow. Despite Tobi's insufferable and annoying personality, he had to admit that he was slightly curious how the hopeless man had passed.

"How?" He asked, carefully keeping his voice uncaring as he unfurled the scroll in his hands.

"Tobi and his teammates were walking, when Shiore-kun found three Konoha genin passed out. There was sand all around the Konoha genin, but no one else was there. And the Konoha genin had an Earth Scroll! So Tobi and his teammates took the scroll and ran all the way to the tower! Tobi is the Ultimate Escape Artist" The masked figure reported cheerfully, "Zetsu-san will be so proud!"

Orochimaru sighed and felt like bashing his head against something for having such an idiotic simpleminded partner. More than any other type, he _despised _simple-minded people. He had to, because not a day went by when he wasn't cursing Jiraiya with everything he had. All because of that one _stupid, simple-minded _toad lover, his life had taken a turn for the worse.

He still cringed as he thought of the day Pein-sama had come to him.

"_I have a offer for you," powerful eyes stared into his own and Pein stood in front of him, "if you accept, I will give you a powerful new body to occupy, and you will have someone skilled enough to perform the transfer procedure."_

_Orochimaru mentally winced. It sounded too good to be true, and that meant it probably was. But Pein-sama was the god of the Akatsuki; going against his wishes was simply not done. _

"_What is your offer, Pein-sama?" He asked, his teeth still gritted. _

"_You will return to the Akatsuki," the god of the Akatsuki was always straightforward, "and you will perform a mission to retrieve the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi from Konoha."_

"_I cannot simply walk into Konoha," Orochimaru tried to explain. It was a suicide mission. He was confident in his ability to handle Sandaime-jiji by himself, especially with a new technique that he had been working on, but along with all the rest of Konoha's A-rank jonin?_

"_We have planned for that. In a few weeks, Konoha will hold the chunin exams, which Sunagakure will be participating in. You will kill the current Kazekage and enter Konoha in his place to watch the participants. While there, you will find out who this Jinchuuriki is and capture him," Pein instructed, "if the opportunity comes, you are free to capture Uchiha Sasuke as well. We know that you are after the Sharingan."_

_Orochimaru considered. As long as they allowed him to take a new body and regain his strength beforehand, it was possible, if not preferable. The Kyuubi's Jinchuuriki would be around the age of twelve, since twelve years had passed since the attack on Konoha and the sealing could only be done while the container was young. That meant that he would probably be a genin, still young and easy to target. It was unlikely that such a young genin would be able to utilize Kyuubi's full power._

_The part he hated most was that he had to join the Akatsuki once more. He hated the organization, and didn't particularly care for its goals. Just the idea of facing Uchiha Itachi alone was enough to make his stomach turn. _

_Then again…Uchiha Sasuke…_

_Suddenly his eyes widened. _

You are planning to attack the Kazekage. We will stop you before then.

_The white haired boy had said that. The one who had posed as Jiraiya's son. How on earth had he known?...a sense of foreboding began to grow in his insides. _

"_What is your reply?" Pein asked, growing tired of the snake sannin's silence. _

"_Fine," Orochimaru replied, narrowing his eyes and cursing his luck._

"Is senpai proud of Tobi?" Tobi asked, one finger held on top of the mask to the approximate location of his mouth.

"You just had some luck," Orochimaru stated. Luck that clearly refused to work for him. He ran one hand through his white hair, exasperated, and went back to his scroll. The one thing that kept him sane was that he liked his new body. It was tall and lean, approximately the same build that he had been. That meant that it had been easy to learn how to maneuver in it. It also had enough strength to hold the snake sannin's generous reserves of chakra. The nameless man he now occupied had once been a missing nin from Iwa, from a smaller clan that had been known for producing large chakra reserves. It didn't have any interesting doujutsu or bloodline limits apart from that, but it was something Orochimaru could work with.

"Senpai is so strict…but Tobi will still make him proud," the other Akatsuki member sat down next to him, "Tobi will fight in the third task!"

"Drop out. I don't have time to be supervising you," Orochimaru instructed, eyes not moving from his scroll. As he was the Kazekage, he had already been informed on what the third task would be.

There were a few seconds of silence.

Sighing, the snake sannin looked to his side, only to see that Tobi had donned his young henge again. Large, green eyes stared back into his own, almost sparkling with potential tears. Tobi held his stare.

"Fine!" Orochimaru hissed, giving up, "you can participate in the preliminaries. But you had better _not _get into the finals. We need to see which one of these genin is the Kyuubi's Jinchuuriki, and that won't happen if you get him out of the tournament in the first round. Do _not _win your fight."

"Yes, senpai!" Tobi looked over at the scrolls his senpai was studying, "what are those? Orochimaru senpai is so intelligent…Tobi doesn't understand any of it," he leaned over the snake sannin's shoulder to peer at the various fuuin symbols.

"This is something that I've been working on. It will make me stronger in battle," Orochimaru said absently, placing his ink-laden brush down to change a stroke.

"Oooh! is it _really _possible for senpai to get _even stronger_? Tobi is impressed!"

"Yes," the snake sannin muttered, "This is a scroll detailing a summoning. I have been researching it for the last ten years. It is called the Edo Tensei…"

ooooo

A few weeks ago, in Kumogakure's black market:

"What? What do you mean I can't have it?" Senju Tsunade yelled. She hand one hand on her hip and the other pushed firmly against the table, "I worked hard for this!"

"Well…it's just a bunch of wooden par-"

"_He _was just a bunch of wooden parts! He was a puppet master who turned himself into a puppet!" The slug princess shouted, pointing down at the puppet head that was on the table.

"There's really no way to make sure…." The man behind the counter of the bounty office rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, "I mean, you could have just sculpted this and brought it in…we usually need a head of flesh and bone to verify-"

"Arrrgh!" Tsunade picked up Sasori's puppet head and made to throw it at the man's face.

"Tsunade-sama, _please _calm down," Yugito wrapped her hands around her combat partner's muscled arms and attempted to pull her away from the counter, "he has a point. I know you killed him but there's no way to prove-"

"But Sasori of the Red Sands was a _puppet_! He didn't _have _a head of flesh and bone. And I defeated him! I even had to use my Strength of a Hundred to do it!" The slug sannin narrowed her eyes and leaned forward with an angry look on her face, "I want my bounty money, damn it!"

**ooooo**

**So as a few of you have noticed, I'm rather reluctant to end a chapter in a cliffhanger. Even if it contains a bit of a cliffhanger (such as this one), I'll find a way to add something else at the end so that no one is left hanging. Why? Because unless they're done _really _well, I don't like cliffhangers. **


	16. Saiken's Teachings & Orochimaru's Fear

**Chapter 16 – Saiken's Teachings & Orochimaru's Fear**

"So…do you know where Hoshigaki Kisame is?"

"Nah."

"Do you have any contacts in the area?"

"Nah."

"Do you have any way of getting information?"

"Nah," B took another giant gulp of his tea. He looked at the finished cup curiously as if he was wondering why there had been so little in it, and then waved at the server to bring him another.

Utakata glared at him with his narrow eyes from behind his cup, sipping at his own tea, "so…you promised this other Jinchuuriki that we both now report to that you would take down the legendary Hoshigaki Kisame and deliver his head. Except…you have no idea where this missing-nin is, you don't know how to find him, and we're not supposed to touch his partner because he's ridiculously strong. Did I get all that correct?"

"Yeah, kono yaro," B agreed, gulping down the next cup of tea. Utakata was two cups away from _teaching _the Kumo nin how to properly drink the tea of Mizu no Kuni. They were located in small teahouse in a village near the border of Kirigakure where they had stopped to refresh themselves. Utakata had decided to take the time to question his new partner exactly how they were going to go about hunting an Akatsuki member. Unfortunately, the man seemed to have done absolutely nothing to accomplish the goal so far.

"Well," Utakata sighed, "I suppose I have to do _something _useful for us_. _It's not like I can fight him anyway."

B spluttered over his tea, "not fight? That's not right! You've got the Rokubi, you have to stand by me."

The other Jinchuuriki sighed, "I'm not much of a fighter, B-san. I barely made jonin before I left Kiri."

"But now you've got Saiken, baka yaro!" B protested, watching the other man curiously.

"His chakra is like…an ocean," Utakata admitted, "he is willing to help me, but I am not strong enough to use his power. Hotaru says you are very strong, and you say you have full control over the octopus Gyuki. If you take care of the fighting then I will cover everything else."

"I'll teach you, kono yaro," B refused to give up, "you've got six tails, you've got power."

"Fine. I don't know how much you can do with me, but you can try if you like," Utakata stated, slowly finishing his cup of tea and laying it down gently, "you came here just to find me, right?"

"Yeah! Found you!" B said proudly, strong hands almost crushing the teacup.

"Then we're free to leave and find these other Jinchuuriki. You said one of them was Naruto, right? I know where he is, I've met him before. I never thought that boy would be the same as me…" he trailed, turning his head to watch the clouds over Kiri lazily drift by, "I guess we're travelling to Konoha…"

ooooo

"I'm nervous," Sakura admitted, looking across the area, "I don't like that there's a preliminary, it's just another chance to lose before the finals…"

On the second day of the second task, they had rushed to see Anko first thing in the morning, explaining that Tobi was dangerous. Anko had told them that as long as the Sandaime and all his anbu were around, even an Akatsuki member would not be able to do too much damage. After much begging from Naruto, she had finally agreed to keep _another _eye on him.

"Ch. Twenty-one genin passed, they needed to have a preliminary round to cut the number down before the finals were held in front of people like the Kazekage. They usually only have no more than five to eight people advance to chuunin" Sasuke explained, "and most people who advance to the third task are usually really strong candidates."

"Don't worry Sakura-chan. You'll be fine," Naruto put a comforting hand on her shoulder and grinned when she didn't turn to punch him. Sakura sure was endearing when she was nervous.

"I want to see all three of you fight well," Kakashi told them sternly, "because I have a competition with a certain man to see whose team advances more genin. So Sakura-chan, you had better go out there and punch them like you punch Naruto," he laid a hand on her other shoulder and gave her a one-eyed smile, "and then you can show off some…other skills."

"Naruto-kun! I see you and your team have made it," Lee rushed over to them with Tenten following. Maito Gai was accompanying them, and this time, Neji was walking slowly behind.

"Yeah! You too, Bushy Brows?" Of course, Naruto had expected him to pass, but it was still nice to see his cheerful and hardworking figure in the preliminaries.

"Yes! Although, I did not get to show off the power of my youth to complete the second task…" Lee trailed off.

"Why not?" Naruto wondered, watching Tenten bite her lip nearby.

"Tenten went out to…heed Nature's call, and the male members of another team decided to…watch. She beat them all in her anger once she spotted them, and fate willed that they carried the Earth Scroll which we needed," Neji explained stoically, "after that, we had only to run to the tower. We completed the second task in two days. We didn't even _see _any other teams."

Naruto clutched his stomach and burst into laughter. The lone kunoichi on team Gai blushed bright red and tried to keep her angry expression.

"My strong and beautiful student Tenten has finally revealed the true power of her youth!" Gai boasted, holding his arms out, "come, student of mine. After you win these preliminaries, we shall train together and let the sweat pour from our foreheads until the setting of the sun!"

"Like hell!" Tenten snapped, pushing her sensei's hands away. A vein threatened to burst in her forehead as she took in the _insane _members of her team and sighed.

"Is that what you have to put up with?" Sakura asked the older girl sympathetically.

"Every day," she lamented.

"It is no matter," Lee spoke up, "I will simply have to display the power of my youth during these preliminaries! Gai-sensei, I will put every you have taught me on display for the world to admire!"

"Lee, my brilliant student!" Gai seemed to be on the verge of tears of happiness as he held his arms out.

"Gai-sensei!" Unlike Tenten, Lee was perfectly willing to rush into them.

"Lee!"

"Gai-sensei!"

"Lee!"

"I'm not sure if students are supposed to feel this way, but sometimes I'm glad when his attention isn't on me," Tenten admitted, inching away from the hugging males in green tights and closer to Neji.

"As I am," Neji agreed. Among the craziness that was Gai and Lee, the two had bonded as much as was possible for the stoic Hyuga. Which meant that she was the only one he would allow within his one meter radius of personal space.

"Well, at least _all _my students adore me," Kakashi said happily, "look, the tournament pairings are up."

All of the genin rushed to the front of the area to see the boards where the pairings had been listed. Gekkou Hayate stood beside the board, surveying the prospective chunin with an amused look.

_1. Lee of Konoha vs. Gaara of Suna_

_2. Sakura of Konoha vs. Kankuro of Suna_

_3. Tobi of Kusa vs. Sasuke of Konoha _

_4. Shikamaru of Konoha vs. Miyu of Kusa_

_5. Zaki of Ame vs. Chouji of Konoha _

_6. Shino of Konoha vs. Temari of Suna_

_7. Jin of Ame vs. Tenten of Konoha_

_8. Shiore of Kusa vs. Shigure of Ame_

_9. Naruto of Konoha vs. Kiba of Konoha _

_10. Neji of Konoha vs. Ino of Konoha _

_11. Hinata of Konoha receives a bye and proceeds to the finals_

"How typical," Neji retorted quietly so that only his teammates could hear, "Fate has once again decreed that _she_ is given an advantage."

"Neji, you're up against Ino," Tenten deadpanned from beside him, "there's plenty of advantage there for you too."

Naruto simply looked at the pairings in horror. He knew they would be different. After all, the Oto nin were no longer participating, and Kabuto's team could not fight because of how recently Kabuto had been killed. Since Gaara was no longer bloodthirsty, the team from Ame hadn't been murdered by him, and had managed to pass to the preliminaries. Actually, some were still the same; resilience of time and all that. No, he was worried about one particular line.

_3. Sasuke of Konoha vs. Tobi of Kusa_

He bit his lip and turned to see Sakura mirroring his worried look. They both turned towards their stoic teammate.

"I'll fight him. He can't do anything in front of the proctors," Sasuke decided, "I'll see just how good someone from _that man's _organization really is."

"Please be careful, Sasuke-kun," Sakura pleaded.

"Yeah," Naruto said softly, "if you think you're in danger, screw your pride and forfeit immediately," he laid a reassuring hand on his teammate's shoulder, which the Uchiha boy immediately shrugged off.

"Let's see how Lee does against Gaara," Sakura stated, leaning over to peer into the fight arena, which was still empty.

"Ch. He doesn't stand a chance," Sasuke stated.

"I don't know. He seems really good with his taijutsu," she commented, "that green man is always boasting about it to Kashi-sensei," she smiled, "and then Kashi-sensei boasts _back _about how awesome my punches are! Having Naruto-baka around really helps sometimes. And all of sensei's training was pretty helpful. I made sure to do my very best to make him proud."

Naruto wisely stayed silent and looked around the large building. In the observation balcony on one side was the Sandaime Hokage, blowing pipe smoke and smiling softly at all the talent he could see. Beside him were two anbu who stood as still as statues. Behind him was Mitarashi Anko. He wasn't sure how she had managed to get into the Hokage's observational box, but he was glad she was taking her guarding duty seriously. He looked to the audience stands, and saw Kakashi sitting beside Gai, Asuma, and Kurenai. On his other side was Jiraiya. He waved wildly, and grinned when his shishou waved back.

"Well, I won't lose," Naruto decided, "because Ero-Sennin is going to watch me kick Kiba's butt." It was almost obvious that he would win anyway, but saying it out loud felt good.

"Attention!" Gekkou Hayate raised one arm, and the entire arena fell silent. He emitted a small cough, and then waved towards the board.

"Will Lee of Konoha and Gaara of Suna please step forward," he commanded.

oooo

Gaara reluctantly stepped into the arena. His feet almost dragged as he took his position in front of Lee. The enthusiastic boy in green had jumped down to the floor, not even bothering with the stairs. He stood in front of Gaara with a fully determined look on his face, thick eyebrows narrowed in concentration. The match had not been announced to begin yet, but Lee had already taken his signature stance. Lean muscles in a physique created from sweat and hard work flexed under green cloth as he looked at his opponent with singular determination.

Closing his eyes for a moment, Gaara inwardly sighed. He hadn't remembered seeing that look in the boy's eyes. Last time, he had not even been paying attention. All he had seen was yet another human whose blood could help him validate his existence to his Mother.

He opened his eyes to see Hayate looking over his clipboard one last time, and asked himself if he could really fight this boy.

It wasn't too hard to remember his previous fight with him. It wasn't hard at all to recall the boy's determined look as he stood in place with a broken arm, bleeding leg, and dysfunctional spinal chord. Stood upright to face another attack.

Gaara remembered how the boy's older version had come down, looking at his precious student with pain in his eyes that no sensei as dedicated as him should be allowed to feel.

He had often asked after the boy later on, when Naruto would cross his path. That was how he knew that the boy had needed to have a full surgery preformed by the best iryounin history had produced. That was how he knew that his sensei had made up his mind to mirror his student's fate. Naruto had told him that Kakashi-san had tried to convince him otherwise, but nothing had come in the way of his decision.

It would be easy to defeat him without almost ruining his life. It would be easy to use Sousou with his Kage level chakra control, allowing Lee to fall unconscious without creating any lasting damage. But Gaara found that he simply could not do it.

"Alright," Hayate put away the clipboard, "you both know the rules. You may begin."

Gaara slowly raised one hand in the air, and none of his sand followed it.

"I do not feel well," he rasped, "I cannot fight. I forfeit the match."

The entire arena was silent.

"Err, are you sure, Gaara of Suna?" Hayate asked, confused, "you don't look…unhealthy…" He coughed again, as if demonstrating the meaning of unhealthiness.

"I am," Gaara replied emotionlessly, "I have already forfeited."

"That is too bad, Gaara-kun," Lee spoke up. He relaxed from his stance and looked over worriedly, "I hope that the power of your youth will allow you to recover as quickly as possible!"

Gaara did not reply. He silently turned away and made his way toward where his siblings were standing and watching, shocked expressions on their faces.

"I _knew _there was something weird about him," Kankuro muttered, "I think I actually like it better when he's not feeling well."

Up in the stands, Sakura swallowed heavily, "great. Just great. I'm practically up first," she moaned.

Beside her, Naruto barely heard the words. Instead, he was bursting with pride for his friend who was slowly walking out of the floor. He knew that Gaara had made the right decision. Kakashi had left his seat in the observation area and was making his way to them.

"Well, you're up next, Sakura-chan," their sensei said lightly, "we have a few minutes while Hayate-san goes to record the score. Do you know who your opponent is?"

"I know him, but not his abilities," Sakura bit her lip.

Naruto considered telling her. In his time, Sakura had taken a large hit to the confidence when she had collapsed in her fight against Ino, and that had taken much longer to recover than her bodily injuries. Kankuro, on the other hand, was already quite powerful in his own right as a puppet master. Telling her would only even the playing field. And if she won because of the information, well, that's what teammates were for.

"He's a puppet user," Naruto spoke up, "and you'll probably be fighting against his puppet first. It looks just like him. The real one is inside the bindings."

"How do you know that?" Sasuke asked suspiciously.

"I…uh…heard some other team talking about it," Naruto excused himself lamely, "let's focus on encouraging Sakura-chan."

"Ch. She'll be fine," Sasuke retorted.

"You…really think I can win?" Suddenly Sakura's eyes were large and hopeful.

"Of course," Sasuke said matter-of-factly, "unless you make some debilitating mistake."

"I wont!" The pinkette cried, "I'll win this!"

"You should. Because if you don't, sensei will be sad," Kakashi added, looking the farthest thing from sad.

"Yes! I'm going to win for Sasuke, and Kashi-sensei, and…well…Naruto-baka too," Sakura decided, a new confident look overcoming her underlying nerves.

In the arena, Hayate was once again taking out his clipboard.

"Would Sakura of Konoha and Kankuro of Suna please come forward."

Naruto watched his teammate walk down the stairs with sure steps. He really had no idea what Kakashi had been teaching her, but he knew that she was dedicated to doing her ridiculously difficult training routine every two days. Her figure, which had once been mostly slender with baby fat here and there, was now lean and powerful, slowly approaching the one of the Sakura he had known. Unlike Neji or Sasuke, Sakura was another person like Lee who had no advantage to begin with. She didn't even have a shinobi family to teach her the basics, and had slowly absorbed everything through book learning upon reaching the academy. Nothing but hard work and perseverance could have possibly brought her this far. Whether she won or not, he was proud to see her becoming the strong kunoichi she could be.

Kankuro reached his position at the same time she reached hers. Hayate scribbled the names into his clipboard.

"Sorry, Suna nin. I really appreciated what you did for us, but I'm afraid I can't go easy on you," Sakura stated.

"Same for you, Konoha nin," Kankuro smiled, "this should be an interesting fight."

"Well, I'm glad they're getting along," Naruto mumbled, leaning over the railing with Sasuke beside him.

"Ch. She'll put up a good show, at least," Sasuke answered, "you should be thinking about your own battle, dobe."

"Nah, I'm not worried. I've faced Kiba in spars before and won by a mile," Naruto replied airily, "I think that the one we're all worried about is you. Luck is a type of skill, you know. And you don't seem to have much of it."

"Begin," Hayate's voice echoed throughout the room as he stepped back from the floor of the arena.

For a moment, neither of them moved. Kankuro stood still with his bandaged 'puppet' beside him. Naruto didn't take his eyes off Sakura for a second, so he was the one who first noticed the twitch in her leg before she took off at full speed.

Her first punch was aimed right at the centre of his chest.

"No," Naruto muttered, "I _told _her that he was a puppet…"

Crow dropped the bandaged Kankuro to one side and erupted with wooden rods, prepared to trap her and squeeze her until she could no longer move. Beside him, Sasuke was watching with horror as she went on a straight collision course into the wooden arms. However, it seemed that she had different plans in mind.

At the last moment, the pinkette changed course. One foot went behind the other as she leapt to one side, down to the floor. It seemed like she was simply going to slide harmlessly out of the way of danger, but instead, she thrust one arm out and grabbed the edge of the bandage that surrounded the Kankuro on the floor.

With her momentum, there was no need to pull, as she grasped the cloth and slid, it unraveled. The puppet, Crow, had too much momentum in its wooden arms and could not stop them from crashing into each other. It didn't seem like there was any permanent damage, but it struggled to untangle itself.

As the bandages unraveled, Kankuro had enough sense to immediately leapt out of them and out of Sakura's reach. The girl slid a few centimeters and then pushed one hand against the ground to flip herself upright, standing a few meters away.

"You revealed your puppet too soon," she panted, readying herself into her taijutsu stance.

"Maybe," Kankuro growled, looking sideways at Crow, who had finished untangling itself. One of his hands held the chakra strings that controlled it.

"You should look at your opponent instead, Suna boy," Sakura said suddenly, narrowing her eyes a little.

"What's she doing?" Sasuke wondered from beside Naruto, "she should have attacked while he was looking at his puppet…"

"Don't worry, Konoha girl, I'm keeping my eyes on you," Kankuro stated, turning back to see a small smile forming on her face. Sakura's hands began to slowly weave signs in patterns that Naruto was sure he didn't recognize.

With a serious expression, Kankuro looked towards his puppet again, and his fingers began to move. He raised them up in the air and pulled at their chakra strings to force Crow into operation. Naruto and Sasuke watched in confusion as he pulled the strings in a way that was _not _advantageous at all.

Crow writhed and moved, long arms punching it's own body. Slowly, the wooden exterior began to break.

"Ha! Take that!" Kankuro yelled, watching in delight as he made Crow destroy itself.

"Wait, what's he doing? I thought that was _his _weapon?" Sasuke asked, confused. Then, realization slowly dawned on his face, "oh…so _that's_ what he's been teaching her…"

Naruto vaguely heard Neji activate his Byakugan.

Sakura simply stood in her taijutsu stance and watched as Kankuro destroyed his own puppet. In a few minutes, the wooden boy was no longer able to move, and the parts that the chakra strings controlled were in pieces. The Suna nin simply smiled as his puppet became unusable.

"Ha. And you said you _wouldn't _go easy on me," he stated, looking towards Hayate.

"You should look again," Sakura stated. She put her hands together again, "Kai!"

Suddenly Kankuro looked toward the ruined Crow and his eyes widened in shock, "w-what did you just do?"

Sakura let go of the seal and slipped back into her ready stance, "I don't know much about puppet users. But there's one thing that you're famous for," she began, "you're all-"

She ran forward, one hand poised in a fist.

"-weak at-"

Kankuro lunged to one side, but Sakura's left arm came in just in time to catch him under the chin.

"-taijutsu!"

The Suna boy went skidding back for a meter before he lay on the ground clutching his broken jaw bone.

"I used a genjutsu on you that took control of the chakra flow to your fingers," she explained, as Kankuro stood up slowly nursing his chin, "you thought you were using your puppet to attack me, but you were actually making it attack itself."

The Suna boy sighed, "well, I guess I'm done, then."

"Sakura of Konoha is the winner," Hayate stated, stepping down into the arena floor, "the next match will begin in five minutes."

A rush of sand slowly came down onto the floor. Hayate looked up with narrowed eyes; Gaara was sending it down. He started to speak, but stopped when he saw what he was doing. The sand slowly enveloped the broken remains of Kankuro's puppet Crow and took them up to the stands where it dropped them gently by Temari's feet and trickled back into the gourd. Kankuro made his way up the stairs and looked at his younger brother in confusion. Gaara simply stared back impassively.

"It would have taken too long for you to collect them," he rasped, "I want to watch the next fight soon."

Kankuro slowly nodded, still confused, and leaned down with the empty bandages to begin wrapping up the remains of Crow.

On the other sides of the stands, Sakura was walking up to see her teammates with a large grin plastered on her face.

"I told you I'd win!" She stated.

"Good," Kakashi ruffled her pink hair, "one down, two more to do."

"Sakura-san!" Lee cried, making his way over to them with his team. He seemed to be positively smitten by the girl who spoke the values of taijutsu like he did, "that was brilliant! The power of youth truly shines in the Cherry Blossom of Konoha! Please go on a date with me and I will love you for the rest of my life!"

"Uh…I met you five days ago…" Sakura inched away from him.

"Leave her alone, Lee. I don't think Gai-sensei's even given you the talk yet," Tenten drew his arm back and gave Sakura an apologetic smile. Neji deactivated his Byakugan from where he had been using it to analyze the effects of Sakura's genjutsu.

"So far, we are tied, my Eternal Rival!" Gai cried out, facing Kakashi, "but we shall continue this competition with our remaining students!"

"Hmm? What was that?" Kakashi said nonchalantly.

Gai seem torn, "why must you be so Hip and Cool?"

On the other side Kurenai was slowly making her way to the other jonin. She stopped when she saw Kakashi and smiled, "you really have been teaching that girl," she commented, "she's from a civilian family, isn't she?"

"Oh, so _now _you want her? Well I'm afraid my offer no longer stands," Kakashi told her in mock refusal, "although if you like, you can have Naruto-kun. Not even Ican train _him _in genjutsu."

"Oi sensei!" Naruto, "we've got to focus on Sasuke's match now. Did Anko-sensei tell you?"

Kakashi's face grew serious, "yes. I will be keeping watch. I'll intervene at the slightest hint of danger," he assured, "Sasuke will be safe."

"I really don't think you have much to worry about, Kakashi. That Tobi boy doesn't seem very serious about any of this," Kurenai commented, looking over at the other side of the stands where the Kusa team was standing. Tobi was jumping up and down and grinning at his match.

"That's why I'm worried," the white-haired jonin informed her absently. His eyes never left Sasuke.

In the stands below, Hayate had just finished marking the new entry. Their five minutes was over.

He coughed and cleared his throat, "would Tobi of Kusa and Sasuke of Konoha please come forward," he asked loudly.

Across from them, Tobi was waving excitedly to his teammates Miyu and Shiore, who both looked slightly worried for him. Instead of taking the stairs, the green-eyed boy jumped directly down into the arena floor, coming to a standstill in his position.

Sasuke took his time going down the stairs. It looked for all the world like he was trying to be overconfident and dramatic, but Naruto knew that it was caused by nerves the Uchiha heir would never admit to. When he finally reached his position on the floor, he took up his Uchiha taijutsu stance almost immediately.

"Tobi is so excited to fight Sasuke-kun!" The green-eyed boy exclaimed, jumping in his spot, "this is going to be so fun!"

"Er...well…you may begin," Hayate stated, standing back to leave the arena floor.

Sasuke knew not to underestimate his opponent. He drew both hands into a defensive stance and bent his knees. With an expression of pure challenge on his face, he looked directly at Tobi.

"Sharingan!" He yelled, feeling the change in his vision as his bloodline limit activated.

"S-scary!" Tobi yelled, covering his face with his arms and running back to press himself against the wall of the area, "S-Sasuke-kun is scary!"

Sasuke knew enough about distraction tactics to stay on alert. He was watching Tobi's every move. The boy acted like an idiot, but he had easily escaped from Gaara's Sousou. That meant that he was powerful. He put his hands together and prepared to go thought the seals for Goukakyu no Jutsu.

"S-stop! Sasuke-kun is too scary to fight! I give up!" The green-eyed boy cried, still pressed against the wall as far as he could get from the Uchiha boy.

"Er…Was that a forfeit?" Hayate asked curiously, stepping up. He looked utterly confused.

"Yes! If Tobi doesn't stop, Sasuke-kun will set Tobi on fire!" The boy nodded vigorously, "and Sasuke-kun is looking at Tobi with eyes almost like Itachi-senpai!"

In this box, the Sandaime Hokage stood up suddenly with his eyebrows narrowed, "Itachi…senpai?" Had this boy known Itachi before he defected? He was a minute away from setting his anbu on him.

"Well then, the winner is Sasuke of Konoha," Hayate reported, looking at Tobi a little suspiciously.

"Well, Tobi had fun, Sasuke-kun," the green-eyes boy chuckled lightly. When he stopped laughing, the humor slowly left his face.

Sasuke didn't leave his stance for a second. His eyes only hardened when Itachi's name was mentioned.

"I'll be going now," the boy said. Slowly, he brought one arm up to his side. He began to lazily move it down, and Sasuke gasped as parts of his side began to disappear. As he moved his arm in a circle, more and more of his form began to disappear, until the only thing left was an arm and an eye that briefly flashed red. The arm swirled in on itself until that, too, was gone.

Only when Tobi's entire form was gone did Sasuke relax and slowly bring his arms back down. Beside him, Gekkou Hayate was looking up towards the Sandaime, who nodded and made a single sign with his fingers. Immediately, three anbu left to analyze the chakra signature of the area, to see if this so-called Kusa _genin _had truly just preformed an advanced space-time jutsu.

"Well," he coughed, "the next match will begin in five minutes." With that, both he and Sasuke left the arena floor.

ooooo

"The winner is Shikamaru of Konoha."

"Can we go out for lunch?" Naruto asked, "because that was the lamest match ever. That Miyu girl still had a sprained ankle from where she was trapped by Gaara, it was pretty obvious that she couldn't move fast enough to escape the shadows. She was no match for our Shikamaru."

"Oh I don't know. I think the fact that my opponent forfeited because he was _scared of my face _might beat it in terms of lameness," Sasuke commented. He lowered his voice, "I know he was probably just playing around, but he could've at least given me a fight…"

"Just be grateful," Sakura murmured. She turned to Naruto, "I'm ok with lunch. There's lots of time before your match."

"Yosh! Ramen!" The blond boy yelled.

"Why is it always ramen?" Sasuke wondered, "the frightening thing is that I'm being forced to develop a taste for it…"

"You guys are so lucky…" a new voice stated. They all turned around to see Chouji standing there dejectedly, "my match is up next so I can't leave to eat…I wonder if there's still time to withdraw…" He looked at them wistfully.

"Chouji, remember what I promised you?" Asuma interjected, "a bag of chips if you make it down to the arena, a barbeque dinner if you fight, and dinner for a week if you win," the taller man sighed and absently fingered his wallet as if he'd never see it again.

"Right, Asuma-sensei…" Chouji said, perking up a little at the thought of his favorite food.

"Tough luck, Asuma-san," Kakashi waved.

"Oi sensei, you're paying for our lunch, you know," Sakura stated matter-of-factly.

"Eh?"

"Sasuke and I won our matches," she continued, "and you have to motivate Naruto to do well."

"Ichiraku Ramen!" The blond boy stated.

Sasuke considered, "If sensei is paying, then I think we should go for-"

"Ramen it is," Kakashi interrupted, "the way Naruto eats, I won't be able to afford anything else, bounty or no."

"Ch. Fine."

"Kage Bunshin!" Naruto formed the clone seal. His teammates watched, curious, as five clones appeared

"We're going out for lunch," the real Naruto told it, "one of you dispel after each match so I know what's happening."

"Yes, Boss," the clones saluted, and then went down to sit in the stands.

"Hmm. You use clones very well," Kakashi commented, "it's already supposed to be a B-rank technique, but with the way you do it…"

"Would Chouji of Konoha and Zaki of Ame please come forward," Hayate announced from below.

"Good luck, Chouji-kun," Sakura gave him a wave as she followed her teammates and sensei out of the arena.

While walking to the ramen stand, Kakashi allowed Sasuke and Sakura to walk up ahead and pulled Naruto back, "why did Gaara forfeit?" He asked softly.

Naruto sighed, "well, I suppose I'll start from the beginning. Gaara was…not treated like a human when he was young. Everyone looked at him and only saw Shukaku, so he had no human companions and quickly became the monster that everyone saw him as, even though he wasn't. At that time, he would kill people without a care, because Shukaku told him to. In this battle with Lee…he broke his arm and leg, and Lee managed to stand up to continue to the fight. Gaara attacked again, and almost killed him before Gai-sensei stopped the fight," he explained.

"But why did he stop now? He could easily defeat him without killing him," Kakashi asked again.

"Last time, Lee had to have a surgery by Tsunade baa-chan to get better, and there was a fifty percent chance that he would die," Naruto went on, "years after when I beat the insanity out of him, Gaara felt horrible about that incident. Lee really is a genius, Kashi-sensei. He has the potential to become amazing, but people look at his lack of ninjutsu and think he's weak."

"Lack of ninjutsu?" Kakashi raised an eyebrow, "he can still do _some_ jutsu."

"Yeah, that was one of the changes," Naruto rubbed the back of his head, "originally, he couldn't do _any _ninjutsu because his chakra coils weren't developed at all."

"I see…"

"You were really upset about Lee's condition too, sensei," Naruto went on, "because Gai-sensei was the one who convinced Lee to take the risk. He…said that if Lee died, he'd die with him."

The jonin was quiet for a while. Then he sighed, "yes, that seems exactly like the sort of crazy thing that only Gai would do. But to go so far…I think I understand why Gaara left the fight."

"Yeah," Naruto grinned, "I'm really proud of him. He's one of the best friends a guy can have."

"Sensei, Naruto-baka, hurry up! We need to eat quickly or we'll be late for Naruto's fight!" came Sakura's voice from up front. Naruto grinned and walked a little faster.

ooooo

"You've got the worst luck," Temari commented, swinging her fan onto her shoulder, "honestly you're pretty good, kid, but I'm the worst opponent for you."

"I'm aware," Shino withdrew the insects he had left, "why? Because none of them have gotten within a meter of you and I've lost a quarter of my colony."

"Are you going to resign?" The Suna girl asked again, tapping her fan. Around her lay a sea of dead kikaichu bugs. No matter how many bugs had come for her, they all flew in the air. That meant her fan could deal with them easily.

"Yes, I believe that would be the best thing to do. Why? Because I have no wish to lose any more of my colony," Shino decided, letting the last of the bugs slip back under his shirt.

"Well then, the winner is Temari of Suna," Hayate announced, raising an arm to declare the match over.

"You did well for the bad luck that seems to cling to you today," Kurenai told her student with a little smile.

ooooo

In the middle of a slurp of ramen, Naruto winced.

"What is it?" Sasuke demanded.

"Chouji and now Shino…this isn't going to well for the other rookies," the blond boy explained, "Tenten had better pull off a victory for us."

"She'll win," Kakashi stated matter-of-factly. His empty bowl of ramen sat in front of him from where he had finished eating it before any of them could see his lowered mask. Sasuke had vowed that one day he would try using his Sharingan.

"How do you know?" Sakura asked curiously.

"Because Gai-san doesn't like losing to me," the jonin explained.

"…and this guarantee's her victory?"

"Well, that Jin boy isn't very good," he admitted, "his team barely made it out of the forest in time."

"Ah," Sakura went back to picking at her ramen.

ooooo

"Listen, my dear student," Gai placed a hand on Tenten's shoulder as the previous match finished. The girl reluctantly forced herself to turn around and stand still while he attempted to give her a motivational speech.

"Today, after hearing Lee and Neji brag of your youth during the second task-"

"We _weren't _bragging," Neji clarified.

"-I have begun to see that you have much more potential that I originally assumed! It is on that basis that I require you to win this match!"

"And it has nothing to do with your challenge to Kakashi-sensei," Tenten deadpanned, "got it."

"-but I completely understand if you do not, because that, too, happens during the Springtime of Youth. If you lose, I will simply make sure I train you to your full potential! In fact, I will graciously allow you to join my four am training with Lee!" He finished.

"Like hell!" Tenten waved her hands in a giant X in front of her while maintaining her horrified look.

ooooo

"Ah!" Naruto looked up from his third bowl, "it looks like you and Gai-sensei are tied, sensei."

"I figured that would happen," Kakashi sighed. Naruto was on his third bowl, Sakura was still slowly eating her first, and he and Sasuke were sitting back in their seats waiting for the results.

"She got him as soon as the match began. He was some kind of Katon specialist, but his flames didn't actually stop her weapons. They just made them hotter," he explained, "so when they lodged in his body he couldn't stop screaming because they were hot _and _sharp, and even Tenten looked a little sorry for him."

"Tenten-san is really cool," Sakura sighed. The older kunoichi who was strong and beautiful in her own way had become a sort of idol for her. "Her other teammates are a bit weird, though."

"Hm. Hyuga Neji of them is going to crush that girl you used to be with," Sasuke commented, "the one who runs the flower shop."

"Oh, poor Ino. She has the worst of luck sometimes," Sakura sighed.

"She's part of the Ino-Shika-Cho formation," Kakashi added suddenly, leaning forward, "that team has been reserved for the heirs of the Yamanaka, Nara, and Akimichi clans for generations now. They don't work very well individually, but when working together they become one of the top three shinobi teams ever observed. Of course, I'm not sure those genin are up to that sort of power right now, but they will grow into it," he explained.

"Yup!" Naruto said happily, "but for now, she's going down."

"More importantly, shouldn't we be heading back now?" Sasuke commented, "there's only one more match before Naruto's."

In response, Naruto gulped down the rest of his bowl. Sakura looked down at her half filled bowl and pushed it in front of Naruto, standing up from her seat. The blond boy gulped that down too, and then turned to run back to the arena.

ooooo

"Allow me to take control of your chakra."

In a sewer deep inside of his mind, Utakata stood facing a giant cage. Behind it lay Saiken, the Demon Slug. He towered over the small human, wide and thick and covered in layers of slime.

"No," the brown haired man answered, crossing his arms over a bare chest, "it will hurt me."

"Get used to it," Saiken countered, slithering closer to the bars of his cage, "you do not have the control required to handle my chakra, and your natural reserves are not large enough. This is the only way."

"Can I not learn to use it little by little?" Utakata tried.

He and his curious combat partner from Kumo were in the middle of traveling to Konohagakure, and had just left Kiri by boat. Utakata had taken one look at the money that B had brought with him and promptly decided that they would be sleeping in inns instead of in the bush like B had suggested. Now that they were no longer in the vicinity of Kiri hunter-nin, Utakata was free to show his face in civilization without fear of capture. Every evening, B would take him out to some secluded place and convince him to communicate with his bijuu.

"That method will take decades," the slug pronounced, "and we do not have decades. We must destroy Uchiha Madara and stop the trigger from occurring."

"Who is this Uchiha Madara anyway? All you've told me so far is that he is someone incredibly powerful," Utakata asked. He was slowly getting used to talking to the giant animal form. Looking at Saiken still made the fear grow in his heart and reminded him of the days which he had spent cowering from the monster he discovered in his mind, but he was adapting.

"You humans know him as someone who helped found the village of Konohagakure," Saiken elaborated, "he has the Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan, and is the only one capable enough to even _think _of controlling the body of the Juubi."

"How should I know what this 'Sharingan' does?" Utakata raised an eyebrow, "I've vaguely heard that it was wiped out, and I have never even been to Hi no Kuni."

"If you are truly so oblivious, then it is enough for you to know that he is a _powerful _human," Saiken thundered. He was slowly growing tired of his pessimistic human container, "and you must be _strong _to help take him down. I can lend you power, but first you must allow me to take control of your chakra reserves."

Utakata sighed and opened his eyes. B was sitting directly in front of him, munching on a ration bar.

"Saiken wants to take over my chakra reserves," he explained with one slanted, tired eye peeking out from under his hair, "what should I do, B-san?"

"Go for it, kono yaro," B declared with his mouth still full of ration bar.

Utakata sighed again and reconnected with his bijuu, _fine. Do it. I'll go along with it, _he told the demons slug.

_Good, _the demon slug declared, _but since I was sealed into you when you were already a partially developed human, I am not familiar with your chakra coils. It will take a while for me to understand how much intensity I should be pumping into your coils, and there is a chance that I might overload them for a while. This will hurt, but soon I will learn. When I give the signal, perform a jutsu._

"Fine," Utakata muttered, feeling the Saiken slowly creep into his coils. It was a strange feeling, but he slowly lowered his barriers and allowed the giant slug to seep into his reserves. His eyes widened as he felt chakra pouring into him, almost too much to bear. He gritted his teeth and tried desperately to remain conscious while his body became an ocean of chakra.

_Now,_ Saiken declared.

Utakata could barely keep his eyes open under the pressure being applied to his body, but he managed to bring his hands together to form seals.

"Sui…ton: Mizu…ra…pa," he choked out.

It was a simple jutsu that he had done many times. He knew exactly how much chakra to pour into it, and it was usually a decent amount. This time, however, every tenketsu point in his body began to burn with raw chakra.

B watched worriedly as the man screamed and collapsed, fingers still held together while the rest of his body lay on the ground. Mere seconds later, he jumped out of the way as a small ocean of water began to erupt from the fingers in front of his mouth. The water rushed forward and broke through several trees, sending them crashing to the ground. The stream of powerful water didn't stop for at least fifteen seconds, all while Utakata desperately held his fingers together to provide an outlet for the chakra that was threatening to burn his coils.

Finally, it stopped, and Saiken withdrew his influence.

_Whoops, _the giant slug said slowly, my mistake. _That was the right amount of power, but a little too much intensity. Do not worry, human. With practice, we will get this down eventually, and you will get used to it._

Utakata, still on the ground and trying not to choke, widened his eyes.

_Wait, that wasn't enough for you to judge my coils? _He spluttered, _we have to do this _again_?_

"He's learning, kono yaro. They're going to be good buddies, baka yaro," B told Gyuki fondly.

ooooo

"Orochimaru-senpai, Orochimaru-senpai, Tobi has successfully failed the preliminaries!" The green eyed boy announced as he very suddenly appeared in the middle of the Kazekage's room.

Orochimaru did _not _nearly jump out of his skin. He merely shifted to a more comfortable position in his seat, and this event coincided with Tobi's arrival.

"How…did you get here?" The snake sannin asked carefully, "the doors and windows are closed," he narrowed his eyes at the boy who was now relinquishing his henge for his usual orange-masked figure.

"Oh senpai, there's a_ reason _that Tobi is the Ultimate Escape Artist!" Tobi reported brightly, "even Zetsu-san knows it! Is senpai finished with his new jutsu?"

"Almost," the snake sannin allowed long white hair to flower over the shoulder of his Kazekage robes, "it should be ready by the time the chunin finals begin. What is the name of the Jinchuuriki?"

"Silly senpai, you should know that his name is Gaara. He's your son!" Tobi giggled, one hand posed over his mask.

"_Tobi…"_

"Yes, yes, Tobi knows. His name is," he took some sort of weird stance with a thumbs up, imitating the way Naruto had introduced himself earlier, "Uzumaki Naruto, believe it!"

Orochimaru of the Sannin could have commented on many things. Being around Tobi was enough to slowly teach the fine art of punchlines. He could have face palmed at the weird good guy pose. But instead, he chose to widen his purple-lined eyes at the name which was so familiar.

"S-Senpai?" Tobi asked curiously, "did Tobi do something wrong?"

The snake sannin didn't move. Inside his head, gears were slowly turning. Uzumaki Naruto, the one who his Kimimaro had named. A genin participating in the exams.

"Seeeeeenpaiiiii."

But how could that be? He was a _genin, _how could he have been at the headquarters on that day? Unless…he had been under a henge. But why would someone disguise themselves as the Kyuubi's Jinchuuriki to infiltrate his headquarters? Or…had Kimimaro meant that his name was simply mentioned in passing? The boy was dead now, so he would never know.

Orochimaru was not someone who shunned fear. He was an intelligence man above all, and he knew that fear, above all, was essential to human survival. That was why he slowly allowed the fear to well up within him. He remained perfectly still in his seat, slowly contemplating plans and possibilities.

"Tobi has broken his senpai!" The masked figured wailed, "Zetsu-san will never trust Tobi with a senpai ever again!"

**ooooo**

**Hooray for Tenten, the Queen of Punchlines! (If you didn't get that, google 'Rock Lee and his Ninja Pals' and enjoy). Also, I've recently discovered a wonderful author who's work I love. One of my friends refers to her as the "Queen of Oneshots". Her penname is sarah1281, check out some of her Naruto fics for her awesome oneshot ideas, and a good laugh to go with them! I have no idea how she manages to write so _much, _but kudos to her!**


	17. The Cherry Blossom of Konoha

**And it's up! So I broke my every-day record, but let's be serious, that wouldn't lasted anyway :P**

**Chapter 17 – The Cherry Blossom of Konoha**

"Quiet, Tobi!" Orochimaru snapped. He was getting seriously tired of the useless partner Pein had sent to keep an eye on him, and do _nothing _else.

"Oh! he's ok," the other Akatsuki member cheerfully observed.

"What can you tell me about this Uzumaki Naruto?" Orochimaru demanded, forehead wrinkled in concentration.

"Well, he was a strange boy. He was almost _afraid _of Tobi. He and Gaara-kun ran away from Tobi," the figure reported, "Tobi was just trying to protect his scroll. And then, Sasuke-kun looked at Tobi with a really scary look! As in, Itachi-senpai-scary!"

"Why on earth would someone be scared of you?" Orochimaru wondered, "even your henge is the least threatening thing I've seen."

"Tobi doesn't know, senpai," the Akatsuki member shrugged, "but they ran away."

Orochimaru sat back to think further. Somehow, this boy at least sensed that Tobi had been someone powerful, even if most of his powers seem to center around running away. That would mean that he was either an _extremely_ strong sensory type, or he _knew _something. A boy that young could not have developed sensory abilities strong enough to see Tobi's power; that left the other option…

"The finals. There will be a tournament," he muttered, "That boy Shiore, he's winning his fight against Shigure of Ame, isn't he?" He asked suddenly.

"Yes! Shiore-kun is a good boy!" Tobi agreed.

"Bring him to me. And bring me that Miyu girl as well," Orochimaru instructed, "I will see them before I go speak with Sandaime."

"Yes, senpai!"

Fifteen minutes later, Tobi and his Kusa teammates were heading to the hotel where the Kazekage was staying.

"Tobi-kun, where did you say we were going?" the short girl from Kusa asked, smiling. She was fond of the boy. Their third teammate had been found dead by tragic accident so suddenly, and the green-eyed boy had appeared and consoled them. When he'd heard that they were participating in the chunin exams, he had offered to be the replacement for their dead teammate, and Miyu and Shiore had been relieved.

Furthermore, he had gotten out of the mess with that Sand nin safely, and had brought back their Heaven Scroll. That alone was enough to convince Shiore that he was useful. Of course, he had made a little bit of a fool of himself during the preliminaries, but that didn't affect either of them.

"Somewhere special," the green-eyed boy told her, "to celebrate Shiore-kun's victory."

The other boy smirked, "good. That Shigure wasn't easy to beat. Hopefully it'll take some time for him to drag his butt out of the hospital because he seems to have it in for me."

"Tobi will introduce you to senpai too!" The boy said, stopping in front of a door.

"Your senpai must be pretty rich, huh? This place is nice," Miyu commented.

"Yeah," Tobi agreed, pushing the door open. He stepped back to allow his two teammates to walk into the room.

Miyu and Shiore both gasped when they entered. The large room was a study, with a door that led to a bedroom in one corner. In the centre was a desk, and behind it sat a man wearing the Kazekage's robes. The large Kazekage hat sat on his head, covering his face as he looked down with steepled fingers.

"K-Kazekage-sama?" Miyu asked, shocked. She turned to Tobi for an explanation, but he was already locking the door behind them.

"Y-you're not the Kazekage!" Shiore stuttered. Miyu turned around to see that the man had raised his head. Dark eyes in a long, thin face stared back at them, and long white hair ran down the man's back. Most notably, his eyes were lined with purple markings, the signature of the snake-sannin.

"Who are you?" Shiore demanded, taking out a kunai.

"Tobi, take care of the girl," Orochimaru demanded. He stood up from his desk and made his way over to the boy. Shiore stood absolutely still in fear as he slowly walked around him. Having surveyed him from every angle, the snake sannin nodded.

"Hmm. This should be fairly easy," he took out a kunai in one motion and sent it at the boy's neck, causing him to collapse on the spot. Before he could move, he was surrounded by white snakes.

"Have a seat, Miyu-chan. Would you like some tea? Orochimaru-senpai doesn't really have any, but Tobi can go get some if Miyu-chan likes," came a voice from behind him.

The snake sannin turned, exasperated, to see the frightened girl being pushed to sit down by the masked Akatsuki member. She was staring at Shiore's body in horror even as Tobi was speaking to her.

"Tobi, what are you doing?" Orochimaru hissed.

"Senpai said to take care of her. So Tobi is taking good care of Miyu-chan," Tobi reported with a salute.

Orochimaru let out a long and world weary sigh before taking out another kunai.

ooooo

"You wanna go, Orange boy?" Kiba taunted, standing in his feral taijutsu stance opposite Naruto, "cause I've improved a whole lot since that spar we had."

"I'm not going to hit you," Naruto declared.

"Er…was that a forfeit?" Hayate inquired, wearily lifting an arm. He was getting rather tired of all the strange forfeits that people were making in these exams.

"Nope! I'm going to win _without hitting him_," the blond boy explained.

Kiba looked a little confused, "you're…not going to attack?" He kept his stance but waited for answer.

"Well, I am going to attack once," Naruto conceded, "right now."

The other boy narrowed his eyes and strengthened his stance, prepared for the new jutsu that people had been saying the Turn Around now possessed. Akamaru leapt off his head and stood guard beside him.

Naruto, however, preformed no such jutsu. Instead, he leaned forward for a little while. The only thing that could be heard in the large arena was silence. He straightened.

"What are you doing?" Kiba asked suspiciously.

"It should be near you anytime now," the blond replied. The silent ones were the _best._

In a few seconds, the Inuzuka boy suddenly began to cough and choke, still maintaining his guard but adopting a disgusted look while doing so. The audience all leaned in to try and figure out what he had done, but the smell dissipated long before it reached their noses. Up in the viewer stands, Sasuke was carefully hitting his head against the railing.

"That was disgusting!" Kiba yelled. Akamaru yelped beside him and a shiver ran though his fur.

"Well, that was my only attack. From now on I'm going to win _without _attacking," the blond boy stated, crossing his arms. Once the smell had mostly vanished, Kiba came rushing at him with claws and teeth bared.

Naruto knew full well that he was far beyond the level of anyone currently in the competition – especially since Gaara had dropped out. Instead of humiliating the Inuzuka boy – who wasn't all that bad – he decided to allow him to show off all of his talents before eventually running out of chakra.

He did not, however, take into account the vast energy levels of a hot-headed Inuzuka dog boy. It was a _long _fight.

Two hours later when he was finally declared the winner, he had a chance to show off his_ true _defensive power when Sakura came within punching range.

ooooo

"Ok that definitely takes the win for lamest fight ever," Sakura decided, "poor Ino."

"Yeah, even Kiba was better," Naruto added. Ino had only had her taijutsu and weapons to show, because Neji was much too fast to be caught in her Shintensen without Shikamaru holding him down. The fight had lasted all of one minute before Neji had taken out sixteen tenketsu and she'd been forced to resign.

"Well, the winner is Neji of Konoha," Hayate announced, "and that concludes our preliminary rounds," he took a moment to cough before continuing.

"This year's chunin exam finals will be slightly different. It will be a tournament, as is traditional, but the pairings will _not _be randomized. From an idea that Kazekage-sama himself has suggested to our Hokage, the pairings will be chosen carefully to give each participant the maximum amount of challenge and difficulty. In order to give you time to prepare for this challenge, the finals will also be held a month from now," he paused.

"We have also decided to allow you to know the opponents that you will be fighting so you will be able to prepare certain skills. Above all else, this is a showcase of skill. Even those who do not win have a chance of promotion if they show enough skill," he explained, "I will see you again in one month. Good luck." With that, he revealed the first round pairings.

After his speech, the group of genin rushed to look at the board of finalists and their matches.

_1. Sakura of Konoha vs. Lee of Konoha_

_2. Zaki of Ame vs. Tenten of Konoha_

_3. Sasuke of Konoha vs. Shiore of Kusa_

_4. Hinata of Konoha vs. Neji of Konoha_

_5. Shikamaru of Konoha vs. Temari of Suna _

_6. Naruto of Konoha advances to the second round. _

"Yeah!" Naruto grinned widely, "I got a bye!"

"Well, luck _does _seem to play in your favor quite often," Kakashi mumbled beneath his mask.

"That's not something to be happy about, dobe," Sasuke said arrogantly, "and I've got to do research on this Shiore person now. He shouldn't be difficult. He gave up and ran away in front of Gaara, after all."

"I'm the very first one and I'm up against Lee," Sakura bit her lip, "it makes sense, I suppose. They paired the two taijutsu users together. But the way Gai-sensei boasts about him, it's not good for me at all…"

"By the time I'm done with you, your brain muscles won't have enough energy to think about things like that," Kakashi decided, "if you are defeated easily, Gai-san would never let me live it down."

"You'll do fine, Sakura-chan!" Naruto laid a hand on her shoulder, "just give them a good show!"

"The pairings are interesting indeed," another voice spoke up, approaching them. The three of them turned to see Neji walking towards them with his team behind him, "after I _defeat_ Hinata-sama, we will most probably have a rematch sometime, Uzumaki _Naruto._"

"You shouldn't say things for certain like that…" Tenten added, looking slightly worried.

"Fate has decided that Hinata-sama is to lose," he stated confidently.

"Just today morning, you were saying that it had given her an advantage," Tenten deadpanned, "don't change your mind so quickly."

Beside her, Gai was consoling a heartbroken Lee, who looked to be on the verge of crying his eyes out.

"Sakura-san," he finally said, looking directly at her, "it is cruel that my opponent must be the Cherry Blossom of Konoha who has stolen my heart! But my nindo does not allow me to fight half-heartedly, and so we will most probably have a long and painful battle," he cried, "I apologize in advance for the pain that this may cause you!"

"T-that's ok," Sakura replied, confused.

"This, too, is part of the Springtime of Youth, Lee," Gai consoled, one hand on Lee's shoulder.

"Yosh, Gai-sensei! I will fight with the Flames of Youth," Lee stated, red eyes looking suddenly determined, "even if I must battle true love every step of the way!"

"Lee, my boy!"

"Gai-sensei!"

"Lee!"

"All right, let's go before this gets creepy," Tenten stated, grabbing Neji's arm, "we'll see you again at the finals!" She waved at team seven before leaving with her teammate. She was, of course, hinting to Naruto that he was no longer welcome to join their training sessions in the morning during the next month. It was understandable, seeing as there was a chance he would inform Sakura of Lee's skills. Teammates had to stick up for each other, and Tenten was doing just that.

"Well, it seems that we're tied, Gai," Kakashi told the man nonchalantly as he released his green student.

"This competition will continue into the finals!" Gai decided, "and this time I will win, my Eternal Rival!"

ooooo

"Mou…sorry about this. I was helping an old lady carry her bags into her house, but when I turned back my book – which I had left carefully on the ground – had been stolen by some pervert. So I had to chase him down because it was my special edition of Icha Icha Skill signed by Jiraiya-san himself. When I finally caught up to him and asked him to give it back," Kakashi looked upwards and gave a convincing fake sniffle, "he told me that he needed it to satisfy his needs because his lover was cruel and made him work all day. I immediately recognized this state of despair in my fellow man and assured him that I would help him. After apologizing and convincing him that I didn't plan on helping him in _that _way, I took him to the nearest bookstore and introduced him to the shelf of Icha Icha. But then he told me that he was poor and had no money since he spent it all buying flowers and chocolates for his cruel lover who never did the sort of things with him that I shouldn't be mentioning to my cute students. So I had to buy it for him. When we went to pay, there was this girl sitting behind the counter and she was-"

"THREE HOURS," Sakura fumed, "this is a NEW RECORD, _sensei!_"

"The length and complexity of his excuse also breaks all previous records," Sasuke observed, a vein twitching in his forehead.

"Oh sensei…" was Naruto's only addition.

"Well, we may as well start," the jonin began. His eye was suddenly serious, "You only have two weeks left before your exams."

"Ch, I know," Sasuke said, irritated, "I tried to track down that Shiore boy to see his skills, but I can't find him anywhere. I don't think he's in the village."

"Just go ask Shigure-kun from Ame," Naruto suggested, "he fought him, right?"

Sasuke didn't find it in his heart to push his pride down for long enough to state that it was a good idea.

"Naruto, Sasuke, you know what to do," Kakashi instructed. The two boys nodded sharply and went off to train Sasuke's Sharingan. In the beginning of this routine, Sasuke had been a little miffed at the fact that Kakashi hadn't been spending much time with him, but he had quickly learned that sparring with Naruto was exactly what he needed. Naruto's original taijutsu style was the perfect challenge that his Sharingan needed, and his speed meant that he would work up a good sweat.

After the two boys left, the jonin turned to his lone kunoichi student. She stared back, determined. During the past two weeks, they had dutifully continued her training in taijutsu and genjutsu, and she had worked as hard as ever. However…

"Sakura. There was a reason they released your opponent's name ahead of time," he began, "we must prepare you to fight _Lee _in particular. And you cannot do this with the taijutsu you already have."

"What must I do, sensei?" Sakura gulped. She knew as well as anyone that Rock Lee was the taijutsu genius of Konoha. Being impaired with small chakra reserves meant little when one's taijutsu promised to rival that of Maito Gai himself.

"First let's go over the advantages he has," the jonin began, "first and foremost is speed. He is an entire year older than you, and has run kilometers every single one of those days. At this point, you cannot hope to match him in speed."

Sakura pushed down her whining confidence and listened intently.

"The second advantage is agility," he continued, "Lee is able to turn at a second's notice. I know this because he has inherited Gai-san's taijutsu, and this is something that Gai is widely known for. Combined with even simple ninjutsu such as the Kawarimi, this skill can be deadly."

At this point, Sakura's lack of confidence was slowly rising in her chest. If even her sensei didn't think she could do it, what chance did she have?"

"Now let's go over _you_," his tone changed, "your taijutsu style is still undeveloped. You have been able to achieve considerable skill simply by pushing your body past its limit these last few months, but it takes a long time to properly develop a style. However, this impromptu training has given you an advantage. It has made you _very _resilient," he paused.

At this turn, Sakura began to actively fight Inner Sakura. Sensei _did _think she could do it. All she had to do was train _harder _and _harder _and push herself beyond anything she had done before. All of this went _beyond _impressing Sasuke, although it barely seemed possible. It went towards showing the world that she was not some weak little girl from a civilian family, and that powerful shinobi did not necessarily have to come with fancy surnames and fancier clans. It went towards showing her sensei – who she had spied on once when he visited the memorial – that his students were worth smiling for. It went towards not being left behind in Sasuke's shadow, but running forward and _making _him acknowledge her.

"You can take many hits before you begin to tire. Your stamina is impressive," he continued, "and that brings me to your second advantage. Your strength. Unlike Lee, you only need one strong hit to turn the fight. You also have a third advantage. Genjutsu."

"But sensei, the genjutsu seals take so long! If Lee is as fast as you say, he'll attack before I'm finished making the seals!" She protested, "the only reason I could use it against Kankuro was because he was on the floor."

"Exactly. Genjutsu is your final attack. One hit will turn the fight, but it won't bring him down; it will only make him vulnerable for a few seconds," Kakashi instructed, "and those few seconds will allow you to make the seals and trap him in genjutsu. You see, Lee has low chakra reserves, and may not be able to release the illusions. Once you have him under, you have a much greater chance of winning."

"I see. But how will I keep him down for that time?" She asked.

"Most sensei at this point would train you to become faster or more agile to even out your skill set. We don't have time for that. Instead, we're going to try playing your advantages," he explained, "we're going to keep building your resilience so that you can take more and more hits. Eventually, you will be able to spot an opening. You just need to last until then."

Sakura nodded sharply, wondering what he was going to do. Suddenly, her sensei put out one arm in a typical academy-style taijutsu pose, and kept one eye lazily half-shut. He only said two words.

"Defend yourself."

ooooo

The next two weeks passed by in a predictable routine. The threat of Orochimaru the Kazekage loomed over them, and he was watched at all times by either Anko or Gaara. Anko took her duty seriously. Every evening she would remain perched outside the window of the study and silently watch Orochimaru in his Kazekage disguise scribble into some scrolls. When night arrived, Gaara would take over. He would send one eye up to the balcony and allow it to remain there and make sure the snake sannin did not exit his room. Occasionally, Orochimaru would close his windows and seal his door to do things that none of them were aware of, but they at least knew for certain that he was in the room and nowhere near the Sandaime.

In the daytime, Anko had volunteered to be one of Sandaime's paper-pushers. The old man had looked at her and raised an eyebrow, but she grinned and told him that she was trying to take a break from her missions, although that probably only served to make him more suspicious. Gaara would take Temari to one of the training grounds and train with her, to his sister's utter confusion. Eventually, she began to find it endearing in a slightly disturbing way. He also kept a close eye on their jonin-sensei, Baki, to make sure he did not have a chance to kill Gekkou Hayate. He was incredibly busy and Naruto didn't know how he could even function while monitoring so many different things at once. However, his Gaara was a future Kazekage. He would handle anything thrown his way.

There were also some times that Orochimaru would call his 'son' Gaara to his rooms to discuss plans. After every one of these meetings, the Suna boy would immediately report to Kakashi or Naruto. That was how they knew that the signal to attack was when he revealed his henge and stopped pretending to be the Kazekage. Gaara's job was to let Shukaku loose at that moment and terrorize the anbu and jonin while he dealt with the Sandaime.

Naruto, on the other hand, was committed to Sasuke. Every morning he helped his friend train until they were both tired and filthy with sweat. He had promised Kakashi that he would make Sasuke good enough to become chunin, and he expected to be able to deliver the promise. During their training sessions, Kakashi continued to disappear with Sakura, who was growing more and more worried about her upcoming battle with Lee. She was determined to put on a good enough show. The jonin pushed her harder than anyone ever had before, and soon her ridiculous physical schedule became a daily task. Her physical training took up most of her free time after practice, and even her parents began to wonder why her arms were always scraped when she came home to eat dinner. She simply smiled and told them that it was part of being a kunoichi.

Every day after lunch, Kakashi began to train Sasuke in his elemental nature, until he began to practice the basic steps for the Chidori. During this time, Naruto wandered off with Jiraiya. The toad sage began to teach him the basics of fuuinjutsu, summoning, and onsen peeking, and Naruto was a bright student who absorbed all his lessons.

Gai began to visit Shizune at the hospital and discuss the latest meeting at Kakashi's apartment. Jiraiya sent out letters to Tsunade, asking her to meet with his contacts outside of Konoha and take over his information gathering business along with Yugito. He had originally asked her to come to Konoha in the hopes that she would help with the invasion, but had received an outright refusal.

Slowly, Sakura and Sasuke grew stronger under their sensei's watch. Naruto maintained his intrusion into Sasuke's life by following him home most evenings, sometimes along with Sakura. Three days before the finals, Kakashi called one last meeting with everyone who knew of Orochimaru's plans.

ooooo

"Alright, I'm here," Anko declared, bursting through the door of Kakashi's apartment, "but the question is, who's looking after Orochimaru-sensei?"

She looked around the room and raised her eyebrows when she saw Gaara of Suna sitting on the couch, "and what is this kid doing here? I thought he was the son of the Kazekage?"

"Sit down, Anko-san. Gaara is helping us," Kakashi explained, "he is angry that Orochimaru has killed his father. He is also the one that has been keeping an eye on the Kazekage whenever you weren't."

Gaara nodded, one eye closed. His second eye was currently floating outside the Kazekage's window, just out of sight. Anko walked over to plop down beside Naruto on the table, "alright. And you're…Jiraiya of the Sannin?"

"Hmm, it feels nice to be so popular," Jiraiya grinned, posing as best as he could on the seat next to Gaara, "you've turned into quite the looker! I still remember that little tomboy girl who spent all her time mooning after dear snake-face! I almost expected to see purple under your eyes."

"Shut up, jiji," Anko stated, ignoring Jiraiya's crest fallen look, "is this everyone?" She looked around at Naruto, Kakashi, Jiraiya, and Gaara.

"Nope!" A new voice announced. They all turned to see Gai entering, with Shizune and Tonton following behind.

"Ah, now everyone is here," Kakashi stated, moving over for the Green Beast to sit down.

"Sorry we're late, Kakashi-san. I was held up a little at the Infirmary," Shizune said apologetically. Her eyes fell towards Gaara, "Gaara-san, you're not wearing your henge?..."

"There is no need," the red-haired boy explained, "everyone here already knows who I am except for Gai-san," he turned towards the man in green tights who was looking at him curiously, "I was the one under henge aiding Jiraiya-san when we infiltrated Orochimaru's hideout."

"Ah. I did recognize the sand techniques, but I assumed they were popular in Suna," the man replied, nodding.

"Anyway, we are here because Orochimaru is going to begin his attack in two days," Kakashi began, "what do we know of his plans so far? Gaara, he's been meeting with you, hasn't he?"

"He is able to use the Edo Tensei," Gaara stated, "he will attack Sandaime Hokage-sama with the resurrected bodies of the Shodai and Nidaime Hokage, and one other."

There were a few seconds of silence before Anko was the first one to burst.

"WHAT? He's resurrected the DEAD? And the SHODAI and NIDAIME to boot? Is THAT what all those scrolls were for? How on earth are we supposed to face off against that?!" She demanded, "why didn't you tell me this before! We should have taken him out long ago! Before he had time to write up those scrolls."

"We could not be seen doing that," Kakashi interjected, "others would have only seen us attack the Kazekage, and that would have created an international conflict. And if it reached Kumo or Iwa that we are in the middle of a war, they will rush to take advantage of our seemingly weakened state. It would be much better to allow them to attack first and then drive them away. Then, the other nations will only see that we have successfully dealt with a threat to out village."

"But…the DEAD," Anko emphasized, "how do we fight someone that's already DEAD?"

"That's where my expertise comes in," Jiraiya grinned, "we're going to seal them. You forget, Anko-chan, that I am a master of fuuinjutsu!"

"Whatever you say, jiji," Anko settled down, "but…aren't the first two Hokage a little out of our league? Shodai-sama was the God of Shinobi after all…"

"Do not worry, Anko-san," Gaara began, "there are Jinchuuriki helping us, and Sandaime Hokage-sama himself will be helping us fight. He, too, was once known as a God of Shinobi."

"Well ok, but what about the other reanimated shinobi?" She asked.

"What do you mean?" Naruto looked puzzled, "those are the only two that he plans to reanimate."

"Naruto, there is one more," Gaara said softly, "originally, he was only going to use those two. However, he has since drawn up one more scroll. I do not know exactly how this Edo Tensei works, but each summoning scroll must be meant for one person only."

"Well, Gaara is the Jinchuuriki of the Ichibi," Kakashi began, "we can trust him to help us fight against kage-level opponents. He and Jiraiya will engage two of the Edo Tensei shinobi, since Jiraiya knows how to seal them. Anko is the one who knows Orochimaru's skills best, so she will provide backup for Sandaime-sama. We can leave him to fight his old student, because Orochimaru is weak at the moment and will not be too hard to defeat. He will also have all of his anbu with him since we do _not _plan on letting him put everyone under a genjutsu like he intends to, so there is no need to worry for him. I will lead the third reanimated one away from the area and seal him. Naruto-kun and Shizune-san will come with me," he carefully neglected to mention that Naruto would probably be the one doing most of the fighting. Gai and Anko still did not know the whole truth yet.

"Kakashi…are you sure? A kage?" Gai looked strange serious, "last time you assured me that you had a capable shinobi by your side who you felt safe around, but now…"

"Don't worry so much, Gai," Kakashi reached over and ruffled Naruto's blond hair, "I feel safe around Naruto-kun too. If anything happens to me, he'll unleash his hidden secret powers to avenge me," he joked. Gai looked vaguely worried as he made the connection.

"And what's your brat going to _do_? Stand there and look cute?" Anko deadpanned.

"Oi! Naruto-kun is _my_ student too," Jiraiya corrected, "I have taught him enough fuuinjutsu for him to be able to help us seal these reanimated shinobi. He will help Kakashi seal his opponent."

"Gai-san will be in charge of protecting Uchiha Sasuke," Gaara went on, "because he is Orochimaru's current target at a new body due to his Sharingan. It is one of the reasons why Orochimaru infiltrated the village. Shizune-san will be in charge of medical backup for Kakashi-san and Naruto. Of all of us, Kakashi-san seems to be the one who ends up injured most often," he pointed out.

"I'm just a little weak in stamina…" Kakashi muttered.

"One of our priorities is to make sure the battle _leaves _the village. We do _not _want people getting hurt," Gaara stressed, "these reanimated shinobi have great power, and a single jutsu can destroy hundreds of homes. It is lucky that the chunin exam arena is already a little close to the edge of the village."

"Understood," Kakashi said quickly, "I'm sure it won't be too hard to lead them away."

"Yosh! I will protect my Eternal Rival's beloved student!" Gai agreed.

"Time to meet my _dear _sensei again," Anko nodded, looking a little _too _excited.

ooooo

"Are you ready, Sakura-chan?"

"Yes. I'm ready."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure."

"Are you suuuure-"

"I SAID I'M READY, SHAN NARA!"

Naruto nursed the bump on his head as a few of the spectators turned to watch them curiously. He waved them all off and turned back to his teammate, who was moving as if thousands of pins were stuck all over her.

"Baka Naruto. Not worried at all because he has a bye…" Sakura mumbled. She gulped as she looked down at the arena stadium.

Unlike the preliminaries, which were watched over by only the village jonin-sensei, the Hokage, and the participants, the finals had a full audience. There were foreign dignitaries from Iwa and Kiri and Kumo who walked around on egg shells, and the representative of the Daimyo had his special viewing seat in one of the higher balconies. Next to him sat two figures, shrouded in red and green kage robes respectively. The Hokage seemed greatly elated by the event; he always loved to see the new genin showing off their talents.

Behind him stood Anko, shooting occasional glances at the figure in the Kazekage's robes. Orochimaru sat silently, not bothering to make small talk with the Hokage. It fit perfectly with the character of the Yondaime Kazekage that he was representing. Since there were so many important people gathered together, anbu were literally everywhere. Masked eyes didn't leave a single blind spot in the entire arena.

"_Why _do I have to be first?" Sakura wailed, "why?"

"Ch. Get it over with," Sasuke attempted to console her.

"How do you feel, Sakura?" Kakashi asked seriously as he approached them, "I stopped a week before so that you would feel as good as new, but…"

"I feel fine, sensei," the pink haired kunoichi reported, "my muscles are rested." She leaned forward and allowed pink hair to shroud her face, hiding her nerves.

"Now that won't do," a voice came from behind. They all turned to see Kurenai approaching, "come here."

Sakura approached the other jonin-sensei curiously, and was spun around. Kurenai's hands immediately went through her hair, combing it with her fingers and then deftly braiding it back. Once all her hair was in a braid down her back, the jonin twisted the braid into a small bun and tied it at the back of her head.

"That's better," she stated, turning Sakura around to look at her handiwork, "I'd like to see this year's only genjutsu user do something interesting."

"Yes, Kurenai-sensei," Sakura gulped.

Naruto looked over to the other side of the stands, where Lee was being prepared. It seemed that he and Gai-sensei were in the middle of a motivational speech, while Tenten stood by him with a comforting hand on his green shoulder. Neji stayed as far away as he could from the sickeningly sentimental scene.

Suddenly, the audience quieted. Naruto peered over the railing to see that Gekkou Hayate had raised one arm in the air to command the silence. The special jonin lowered his arm, and then brought up his clipboard. Clearing his throat, he began to speak.

"Would Sakura of Konoha and Lee of Konoha please come forward?" He asked loudly.

"Do well, Sakura," Kakashi said softly.

"Yeah, Sakura-chan. We believe in you. You'll show them how a fight is done," Naruto nodded.

"…Good luck," Sasuke managed. He nodded at her, and her eyes seemed to light up.

Naruto watched his teammate slowly walk down into the arena. As usual, Lee had jumped right in first, and was waiting impatiently for her.

"I have heard that you trained to the full extent of your Youth, Sakura-san," he began once she had reached her position, "that is something I greatly respect."

"I've heard that you trained every night for this," she managed to reply, "may the best shinobi win."

"You may begin," Gekkou Hayate announced. For some reason, he was especially quick in moving out of the arena floor.

For a moment, neither of them moved.

Then, it was almost too fast for the audience members to see.

Lee rushed in first, one arm extended as usual. His speed shocked her, but Sakura managed to bring one arm up in time to block Lee's hit. She barely felt the pressure as she readied her other hand into a fist, bringing it up towards his abdomen. Without a single wasteful move, Lee quickly spun out of the way of the fist and leapt back one step. When he came back in, he feigned a hit with his right arm. She took the bait and blocked, and then his leg came up for a kick to her chin.

From hours of experience, Sakura's arms moved on their own accord. Her left immediately came up to her waist to meet Lee's foot with the outside of her elbow. The momentum slammed into her, and if she was anyone else the match would have been over right then.

But her arms had been trained to block hits from Kakashi of the Sharingan himself, even if he had naturally been going easy on her. She recovered quickly and launched her knee forward. Lee was able to dodge the attack, but it took him precious seconds to do so, allowing her to gain the initiative.

Without thinking twice, she made use of it. Rushing forward with one fist prepared, she thrust it forward, only for it to meet empty space as Lee evaded it neatly. He threw a retaliation attack at her stomach with his hands. This time, her arms were not fast enough to shield it.

Lee's hand hit her stomach with enough force to topple any other, but Sakura gritted her teeth and strictly instructed the muscles in her abs to _deal with it or else. _While he was recovering from the offensive, she took the chance to grab the initiative once more. This time, she surprised him by bringing up one foot in a sharp kick. She was aiming for his stomach, but Lee's body seemed to move faster than was humanly possible. He pushed himself backwards and her kick met with thin air. While she recovered in bringing her foot back down, Lee was able to insert another hit which she blocked with her right arm.

The two leapt away from each other until they were a good three meters away. From there, they stood and watched each other, thinking and planning.

"You have improved, Sakura-san," Lee commented, "you are a worthy opponent."

"And you haven't taken a single hit," Sakura observed, taking the time to slowly loosen the muscles in her abdomen.

"And you have taken many but are still standing. If I had taken two, this match would be over," her opponent stated seriously.

"True."

Again, Lee took the offense. He put his hands together.

"Bunshin no Jutsu!" He yelled. In a cloud of chakra, another Lee appeared and they both headed for Sakura.

Not knowing which one was real, Sakura lashed out at the one who came at her first. Her hand passed through thin air. Noting which one was the bunshin, she spun on her heel and quickly drove her fist into the one behind her. When her hand met air again, her eyes widened.

To get to the real one, she had turned her back on the supposed clone. Now, that clone came after her, real and solid. Lee landed one hit directly in her back, but by this time he already knew how quickly she was able to recover from his hits. Instead of staying to risk another strike, he leapt back. The Lee in front of Sakura disappeared into a cloud, her arm going right through it.

"Bunshin and Kawarimi together…" Sakura muttered. Only someone like Lee could take such simple, academy level jutsu and use it so skillfully. The speed at which he had switched with his clone was not something human eyes could see. She ignored the painful area in her back and took her stance again, facing Lee.

Even that small display of ninjutsu, however, had tired him. His chakra reserves were extremely small, and he could not do even these simple jutsu back to back. It would be a while before he attempted that again. Even so, he still had his taijutsu, and that alone was formidable.

Sakura thought hard. The only way to bring him down was to get _one _hit, just _one. _To do that, she could gladly sacrifice a broken arm or leg. Slowly, a plan began to form in her mind. It was suicidal, it would hurt, and it was exactly the sort of thing that would make Kakashi-sensei and Sasuke-kun look twice at her.

This time, she took the offensive, rushing in with a fist prepared. Lee simply stood with his hand in front of him, his typical taijutsu stance. When she came towards him, he tried to set her off balance by pushing her arm down. His speed was so fast that she could not do anything to prevent it, and toppled forward. Immediately, his hand went for a punch directly to her stomach.

His fist met solidly with the muscles of her abdomen, delivering a crushing punch that rivaled one of her own. Instead of moving away, Sakura wrapped one hand around his fist before he had a chance to retrieve it. She looked up, an expression of pure determination on her face, to see his eyes widen. Without a second thought, she pulled his fist further into her middle and reached back to squeeze her other hand into a fist. Lee tried to draw his hand back, but his strength was no match for her momentum. The fist went directly into his chest, causing his ribs to groan against the pressure.

Lee went flying back.

Sakura didn't have time to hesitate. She was weak from all the exertion, and the punch was nowhere near enough to take him out. However, it _was _enough to keep him down for three seconds. She had three seconds.

Her fingers bashed together in her haste to perform the seals, but somehow she did it. Tiger, Boar, Ox…the seal sequence that her sensei had been able to do in half a second took her exactly three. When Lee managed to stand back up, he looked at her hands with wide eyes. Gai-sensei had already warned him about her genjutsu, which was the only area in which she excelled over him. He had warned him never to get caught. After the bunshin and kawarimi, he didn't even have enough meager chakra to dispel it.

The hand seals finished just as he started to run towards her. Sakura looked up with a tired smile and Lee's face darkened. This genjutsu was simple, it merely placed the target in a black room where they would occasionally feel pain in certain parts of their body. It was one of the most typical types of genjutsu around. However, it took up both chakra and concentration.

While maintaining it, Sakura could not move. It required her utmost concentration as she carefully manipulated the chakra flowing to Lee's brain. The objective was to maintain it until the opponent collapsed from the pain, which they felt as physical. Up in the stands, everyone was absolutely quiet.

Lee felt the world go dark around him as the genjutsu surrounded him. He tried to tell himself that it was only an illusion, but when his own brain was receiving the signals, he couldn't help but feel the random, short burst of pain. First in his left arm, then in his forehead, then on his right foot…each burst felt like a stab with a knife, but Lee held on with the sheer force of will. Opposite to him, Sakura stood absolutely skill, soaked in sweat as she desperately fed the jutsu more and more chakra.

Gai-sensei had told him never to fall into the genjutsu. Never. But Lee had demanded him if there was another way, because there almost always was. Gai-sensei had told them there wasn't. Lee had asked again. The answer had been the same. Two weeks and one-hundred-twenty times later, it had finally changed. There _was _another way to dispel the genjutsu.

The blackness surrounded him, but he was able to feel his own body at least, which seemed to be in the same spot. He fiddled with the hitai-ite on his belt until he finally found what he needed. He grasped the handle firmly and slowly pushed down all the instincts of self-preservation as he stabbed the blade of the kunai into his leg.

ooooo

The audience gasped as they saw the boy in green tights stab himself in the thigh. Lee slowly opened his eyes to see Sakura standing before him. She was panting heavily at the amount of chakra she had expelled, and limp strands of pink hair hung around her face from where it had fallen out of Kurenai-sensei's braid. The sweat made her forehead look even larger and highlighted the fact that her face was perfectly round instead of shaped in any way. Rock Lee was convinced that she was the most beautiful kunoichi he'd ever laid eyes on.

Sakura, on the other hand, was gritting her teeth. The moment she felt her genjutsu dispel, she went on guard, bringing tired arms back up into their defensive position. Normally, she would have been sure of losing since her chakra was drained and she was barely standing, but Lee no longer had use of his right leg. That evened the playing field a little more.

They rushed towards each other at the same time. Just when Lee's hand struck her left shoulder, her own punch jammed into his abdomen. Both genin rushed back again to warily survey each other from a safe distance of three meters.

Sakura could smell the metallic tang of the blood in the air. She considered asking Lee to give up and tend to his leg, but one glance at his eyes convinced her that it would be like asking him to stop breathing. She narrowed her eyes and clutched the arm that had been hit. Her stamina was dropping quickly. The next hit would probably be her last.

With equal amounts of determination, Lee and Sakura rushed in again. This time, their stances were slowly getting less precise, and more inaccurate. However there was only energy for one more hit, and each was unwavering in their will to be the last one standing.

Sakura's shoulder erupted into pain just as the strongest punch she could manage shattered Lee's upper left arm. She looked up to see a pained expression on Lee's face just as she slowly felt herself falling unconscious. Within seconds, she was collapsed on the ground, mouth slightly open and red slowly leaking out to stain the cloth on her shoulder.

Lee clutched his stomach and fell down to his knees. In trying to get up, he slipped and toppled over, crashing headfirst into the ground.

For a moment, everything was silent. Gekkou Hayate stood up from his seat, preparing to announce that the match was a draw and neither one would move on to the next rounds. Then, he paused.

The boy wearing green tights slowly pushed one arm below him, lifting himself inches off the ground.

_Get up, Lee. Get up and show them the Power of your Youth!_ he yelled to himself inside his head.

In a long minute, he had made it back to his knees. Now he put on foot below him and used a hand to ease himself up.

_The last one standing. The winner is the last one standing! _

Finally, he was completely on both feet. The kunai was still buried in one leg and he took care not to lean on it too much.

Hayate's eyes widened, and then he understood. He rushed into the arena with his clipboard.

_Keep…standing. _

"The winner is-"

_Stay up. _

"-Lee of-"

_Don't you dare fall down, Lee!_

"Konoha."

At that point, he was all too glad to let himself fall, and Gai-sensei's arms were suddenly there to catch him.

ooooo

When Kakashi came back up holding the unconscious pink haired girl, the medics rushed to take her. He placed her down on the stretcher they provided and allowed her to go on to be treated for chakra loss, a broken arm, and bruises all over her abdomen. The rest of team seven watched their teammate carried away with wide eyes. Lee, even though he had won, was even more injured. Gai was handing him to a medic to be taken away for a broken arm, injured leg, and severe chakra loss.

"I…didn't know she could _do _that…" Naruto finally managed.

"She's improved," Sasuke observed, watcher her stretcher leave the building.

"That was quite incredible for the first match," Kakashi commented, "it's gotten all the dignitaries talking. Neither Sakura nor Lee had any sort of reputation outside of Konoha, but now, they might. It was incredibly close."

"I…never thought she could almost _last _against _Lee_," Naruto mumbled, still a little shocked.

"Ch. I thought you believed in her. Shigure of Ame is in the stands, I'm going to go talk to him," Sasuke said, turning to leave. Naruto's puzzles expression didn't disappear.

"Naruto," Kakashi said quietly, "why do you look so shocked? You already knew her from the future, and you told me that she would become a powerful kunoichi."

"Yes, but not _now,_" Naruto sighed, "the truth is, you didn't spend that much time with me _or _her. I managed to find Ero-Sennin early on, but Sakura's abilities were greatly stunted. It was only when she finally persuaded Tsunade baa-chan to train her that she improved," he explained.

A slightly pained expressed took over the jonin's revealed eye, "so you're saying that my students ran away with one Sannin each? What kind of sensei was I? Sakura has no advantages or bloodline limits to begin with, but anyone can see that her determination covers for any lack of inborn skill."

"Well, this time _I _was the one who told you about her determination. Otherwise, you may have not spotted it," Naruto bit his lip, worried about his sensei's new melancholy look.

"But still…" he trailed. Finally, his expression became slightly happy, "I'm proud of her. To be able to take on Lee with only a few months of practice is nothing to be taken lightly. Thank you, Naruto-kun, for making sure that I didn't become a lazy sensei twice."

"Oi! You're still the laziest sensei I know!"

ooooo

A small, spherical bubble lazily drifted into the air. To anyone else, it may have just been taking its own course, but in reality it had a target. It made its way though the air until it finally popped on the nose of Killer B of Kumo.

"Oi!" The Kumo nin complained, looking up from his book of enka, "what was that for, kono yaro?"

"That was a demonstration of exactly how much chakra I currently have," Utakata deadpanned from where he was on the ground. He was holding a blower to his mouth with arms that looked like they were straining themselves. He allowed the blower to drop to the side and lay flat on the ground, tilting his head sideways to stare at his combat partner.

"Huh?"

"When Saiken withdrew his chakra from me this time, he managed to withdraw all of _my _chakra as well," Utakata explained in a tired voice, "I am now thoroughly drained."

"Ah, so that's why you were out," B grinned, "Gyuki was in a pout."

_I already apologized, human, _Saiken spoke up, _now stop whining and get up. I though you had to travel somewhere._

"I'm not moving two inches in the state I'm in now," Utakata sighed, "blowing that bubble took absolutely everything I had," he looked up at the clouds that were passing by. Unlike the streaked, dark clouds of Kiri, these clouds were large and heavy and white like good quality cream. Utakata decided that he really liked the clouds of Hi no Kuni. They were nice to gaze at. Slowly, his eyes began to close.

They opened very suddenly when he felt two hands slip underneath him.

"Oi, what are you doing!" he protested as B lifted him like he was a leaf. He gasped when he was thrown over one muscled shoulder like a travel pack, "let me go!"

"I thought I'd help," B stated, one arm gripping the Kiri nin over his shoulder, "now don't yelp, we gotta go see Naruto, baka yaro."

Without even the energy to move, Utakata sighed and resigned himself to the humiliation of being dragged through the forests of Hi no Kuni on a sweaty back.

**ooooo**

**So this chapter was very Sakura-focused. I wanted to emphasize the fact that Naruto plans to make sure _everyone_ on his team is strong and capable, and that's why he put Kakashi on the path of training her. Of course, she couldn't have won, because Lee is both older and determined beyond belief. **

**No one-liner for this chapter. Gomen, gomen.**


	18. The Caged Bird & The Disguised Snake

**Chapter 18 – The Caged Bird & The Disguised Snake**

"The winner is Tenten of Konoha!"

Even as the audience began to cheer, Kakashi was slowly banging his head against the railing. "forty-nine to fifty-one…how could I let this happen?..."

"I didn't think he actually cared," Sasuke commented, looking curiously at their desolate sensei.

"He only pretends not to in order to be Hip and Cool. Are you prepared, Sasuke-teme?" Naruto asked lightly, "your match is in five minutes," he frowned, "it's too bad Sakura-chan won't see it. They say she probably won't wake up for a few hours while her chakra replenishes."

"Ch. Shigure says that he's nothing great. He was only able to win his previous match with a cheap trick," Sasuke dismissed. He didn't seem overly worried about the fight. Compared to his state before 'fighting' Tobi, he was completely relaxed, "and Tenten was lucky. Zaki only made it to the finals because he was facing _Chouji, _who wasn't even _trying _to win. She could have beat him with her eyes closed."

"Don't be so overconfident, teme," Naruto told him. Of course, it was obvious that he would win. It was also obvious that if Shiore was as easy as they said, Sasuke was purposely being pushed into the later rounds in order to show off the talent of Konoha's darling, the last survivor with the Sharingan.

They both turned to see Kakashi still bashing his head against the railing, muttering to himself.

"Kashi-sensei? What are you doing?" Naruto asked, eyeing the bump that was forming on his head.

"Nothing. Just waking myself up so I can watch Sasuke-kun's match," the jonin replied cheerfully before returning to abusing his head.

"Looks like you're trying to put yourself to eternal sleep instead…" Sasuke muttered.

Below them, Hayate was taking out his clipboard. He raised an arm and the entire arena fell silent.

"Would Sasuke of Konoha and Shiore of Kusa please come forward," he announced.

At that moment, Naruto began to feel a familiar twinge in his bladder.

"Do well, Sasuke," he muttered, "I'm going to go pee."

The other boy winced at the vulgarity, "ch. Why should I care?" He turned and began walking down the stairs and into the arena.

"You're going to miss Sasuke-kun's fight?" Kakashi asked, a little surprised.

"Well, if it's over by the time I'm doing peeing, then Shiore probably lost in a boring way," the blond boy explained, "so I might as well go pee." He turned and made his way out of the audience stands and into the hallway at the outside of the building.

On his way to the washrooms, he felt a familiar twitch in his mind. Sighing, he went to attend to Kurama's need for occasional conversation.

_Boy, did you take care of that little boy yet? _The giant fox questioned, annoyingly unspecific. Luckily, Naruto had an idea of who he was talking about.

_Why him in particular? I mean, Orochimaru is an Akatsuki member too, right?_

_But that boy is different. He is…familiar. I know his chakra, _Kurama insisted.

_How? _Naruto questioned. He stopped in front of the men's bathroom and pushed the door open, _have you met him before?_

_No, not exactly. But there is something _very _familiar about him. I know that I've met someone who was connected to him, maybe a father or brother. His chakra signature is too similar to overlook. _

_Well, tell me when you figure it out, _Naruto instructed lazily, pulling down his zipper. He sighed at the bijuu's paranoia. Clearly, the man was an Akatsuki member, but compared to most others, at least he wasn't actively trying to kill them.

A minute later, he zipped back up and let tap water run over his hands. He wondered is Sasuke had already won. Knowing the Uchiha boy, he wouldn't spare mercy for an opponent that had used a trick during his last match. He'd probably activate his Sharingan and go after him with a look that promised defeat,Naruto thought fondly.

He made his way back to the arena quickly, hoping to at least catch the very end of the match. The other matches after his proved to not be very interesting. Neji would probably crush poor Hinata, and Naruto have to make sure to take his revenge later on and assure the poor girl that she was a good fighter. After seeing her take down Kiba so easily, he had completely reassessed her. She _wasn't _weak at all, but her nerves got in the way of her talent. While fighting someone like Neji, she wouldn't be thinking of winning. She'd only be thinking of her beloved Neji nii-san.

Shikamaru's match against Temari promised to be a good time for lunch break. Even after Kiba had taken two hours, Naruto was still sure that their match would break the record for longest and most boring fight ever.

When he reentered the arena, he was met with silence and whispering. He peered over the railing to see that there was no one on the field, the fight was over. There were also smears of blood across the floor. Poor Shiore. Naruto would have to give the Uchiha boy a good talk about manners during a fight. If he could win _without _hurting the opponent, there was no excuse to cause injuries.

He made his way over to Kakashi, who was looking down at the floor with his one eye narrowed in worry.

"Oi, sensei, I'm back," Naruto greeted, going to stand by him. He looked around for Sasuke, but he wasn't there. A few medics were leaving the building with a covered body on a stretcher. Sasuke must have hit that boy hard.

"Senseiii?" Naruto asked when the jonin said nothing, "where's Sasuke-teme?"

"Currently being carried to the hospital," Kakashi finally replied, "he lost his fight against Shiore of Kusa."

ooooo

"SASUKE!" Naruto yelled, bursting into the infirmary room. A few of the iryounin looked up disapprovingly.

The figure on the bed didn't look up at all. He remained unconscious. Naruto ran over to one of the iryounin nearby.

"Iryounin-san! Will Sasuke be alright?" He asked hurriedly.

"That boy will be fine!" The man dislodged Naruto's hands from his shirt, "We've reset his arm and dealt with some internal bleeding. He just needs some rest."

"Let him go, Naruto," Kakashi instructed, shooing the iryounin an apologetic look, "look, Sakura-chan is here too! And we didn't even bring any flowers…"

Upon hearing that Sasuke would be alright, Naruto rushed over to Sakura's side. She was in the other bed in the room, along with Lee and one of the other prospective genin who had been hurt during the second task. Her face was slowly regaining some color, but she remained unconscious.

In the other bed, Sasuke was in a slightly worse state. No damage at all had been done to his face, but when Kakashi lifted the covers, his bare chest was covered in dozens of scrapes and…bite marks?

The jonin frowned as he examined them. They had probably been inflicted right after Shiore had thrown the smoke bomb to combat Sasuke's Sharingan. When the smoke had cleared, Sasuke had been lying there in a small pool of blood. Kakashi had felt a sudden lurch of fear that had hadn't felt in over ten years. He had immediately used shunshin to appear directly in front of Shiore and take his injured student away. The Kusa boy had just stood there looking smug, and Hayate had reluctantly called the winner.

"These are bite marks," he declared, looking over the small dots, "the two deep marks in every injury were made by canines. He may have summoned ninken to help him."

"I'll destroy him when I'm his opponent," Naruto promised, "I'm going to protect Sasuke. I don't care if I have to face all the shinobi in Kusa!"

"There are hundreds of them," Kakashi pointed out.

"Then they'll needs hundreds of hospital beds when I'm done," the blond boy promised.

Kakashi looked back towards Sasuke, "you said that he was the one Orochimaru took over, didn't you?" he mumbled.

"Yeah."

"Maybe he's allied with him. That would explain why he did no serious damage," he postulated, "if he wanted, he could have easily taken an arm or leg. Instead, he only inflicted enough superficial injuries to put him out for a few hours."

"I won't let that snake-face anywhere near Sasuke!" Naruto swore.

"N…Naruto?" A faint voice came from nearby.

"Sakura-chan!" both Naruto and Kakashi were immediately at her bed. They watched as her eyes slowly opened. She attempted to sit up, and then winced as pressure was put on her broken arm. The blanket slipped just a little to reveal bare shoulders with two thin white straps and the beginnings of what they lead to, and that was when Sakura noticed that the iryounin had removed her cheongsam. She quickly laid back down and turned bright red.

At the edge of her bed, Naruto was on the verge of a nosebleed. Although he had seen more than bare shoulders during his 'training' with Ero-Sennin, _Sakura's _bare shoulders were another subject entirely.

"Mou…Sakura-chan, it's nothing I haven't seen before," Kakashi reassured, helping her pull the blanket back up. Remembering a certain day a few months ago, he hoped that she would think he was talking about _other _girls. Sakura merely blushed further, and looked around. The embarrassment turned into a disappointed look as she realized she was in a hospital bed.

"I…lost…" she said dejectedly, "I'm sorry, sensei. I'll do better next time," she promised with a determined look.

Kakashi took one look at her and gave her a smile that made his eye crinkle, "you have nothing to apologize for. I'm proud of you."

For a moment, her eyes widened. For the first time, her talent was being recognized. A slow grin spread across her face, "thank you for training me, sensei!" She then looked around to see another figure opposite her and the grin washed off, "um…will Lee be alright?"

"Yes, he'll be fine," Kakashi confirmed, "his largest injury was self-inflicted, and he knew enough to not stab himself anywhere fatal. However…although I don't think he'll be ready to compete in the next round."

"Oh no…I feel horrible," Sakura but her lip, "because of me…"

"Did I not just say his worst injury was _self-inflicted_? It's not your fault, and he fought brilliantly," her sensei interrupted, "your match was extremely intense. Many of the foreign dignitaries who came to view the prospective chunin were extremely impressed. Quite a few of them know both your names."

Hearing that, Sakura blushed again. Naruto began to worry that her cheeks would be permanently red at this rate.

"I'm going to stay her and keep you company, Sakura-chan!" Naruto declared, "because Shikamaru's fight is going to be ridiculously long."

"And I'll be leaving to watch it," Kakashi stated, "Naruto, make sure you're back by the second round. Since you had the bye, your fight will probably be first."

"Yes, sensei," Naruto agreed, nodding sharply as the white-haired jonin left the room.

"H-how's Sasuke-kun?" She asked tentatively when he had disappeared, "is his fight over yet?"

"He lost," Naruto blurted out, "but that's ok because I'm going kick that Shiore's butt!" He moved aside to reveal Sasuke's limp form on the other bed.

Sakura gasped and pulled the blanket around her, covering her chest before pushing herself up with one arm. She slid her bare legs out of bed and used Naruto's shoulder for support as she stood up. Unfortunately, her grip wasn't the best and she ended up slipping. Naruto barely managed to put his arms under her to prevent her from further damaging her broken arm. He carefully half-carried her over to the bed and helped her sit at the edge.

The pinkette looked down at Sasuke's pale face with worry in her eyes. She wasn't nearly bold enough to reach over and push a strand of hair out of his face, but she seemed sorely tempted.

Naruto sat down besides her, glancing between her and the bedridden boy. His teammates had matured much faster than they had before, but this was one thing that still hadn't changed. He could only hope that Sakura's feelings for Sasuke were temporary.

He was happy that her feelings towards him had at least changed a little. She no longer saw him as the orange idiot, which mean that talking to her about certain things would be easier than before, when she would have simply punched him.

"Sakura-chan, do you still…like…him?" He asked tentatively.

"If he wanted to run away to Kumo, I'd ask him what the weather was like there and dress accordingly, yes" Sakura admitted. She seemed to finally gain some boldness and reached over to push the lone strand out of Sasuke's face.

"If you wanted to move to Suna I'd ask you when we were starting and what I should pack," Naruto tried tentatively, one hand still supporting her broken arm, "I already know what the weather is like there, so I'd be extra prepared."

Her eyes didn't leave Sasuke's face for a moment, but she laughed softly. Naruto pushed down his feelings of disappointment and reminded himself that he was speaking to a twelve year old girl. More importantly, he _himself _was an eleven year old boy. There was no reason she would take anything he said seriously.

"Oh, Naruto-baka," she sighed.

ooooo

Back in the arena, tension filled the air. Every member of the audience was absolutely still. Hayate Gekkou was standing completely still, mouth open.

In the arena, Hyuga Neji was posed to strike a fatal attack. His hand was inches away from Hyuga Hinata's chest, where he would have taken out her very last tenketsu point. However it was not touching her, because one Maito Gai was holding onto his wrist with a grip of iron. Even if he had somehow managed to escape Gai's grip, the hand would not have delivered that blow to its target because Sarutobi Asuma's hand stood poised in front of it. If he had tried, it would have curled around his palm and sent him flying back before he could dream of delivering that fatal blow.

His other arm had been about to come up for backup in case his palm was blocked. However, it was still held in its sharp palm formation near his waist. Seconds earlier, it had been about to rush forward, but now it was unable to move because Yuuhi Kurenai was kneeling with one arm around his waist, preventing him from moving.

Directly opposite him, Hinata Hyuga finally lost the consciousness that had been held by her sheer force of will. She slowly collapsed backward, but before she could go more than three centimeters Hatake Kakashi's arms came around her and gently prevented her from falling to the ground. By analyzing the way she winced, he realized exactly how many of her tenketsu had been shut, and was extremely careful as he turned her around to carry her face down in order to promote the chakra flow in her front.

"…Hyuga Neji is the winner," Gekkou Hayate announced, looking as if he would rather not have said it. Gai and Kurenai let go of their grip as he straightened. The foreign dignitaries in the audience clapped politely, but if you looked closely you would find that no Konoha visitor was cheering. Hyuga Hiashi mere looked on with interested eyes.

"The medics have just gone to the hospital with Uchiha Sasuke," Kurenai informed Kakashi, "I'll take her there myself," she held her arms out.

Kakashi gingerly held out the Hyuga girl, who was still face down in his arms. Her sensei accepted the student and held her closely, using shunshin to appear in the stadium above and exit the building.

The white-haired jonin sighed. He had only appeared at the end of their fight, but the moment he had seen Neji go for the final tenketsu in her chest, he had been on the floor prepared to pull the girl backwards. Luckily, the other jonin-sensei had the same presence of mind, and had appeared in time to hold back Neji's strike. He followed Asuma back into the stands, and every VIP eye in the audience was centered on them. For jonin to intervene in a fight was unheard of. People died in the chunin exams, and rightly so. The genin were left to fly or fall and figure things out for themselves. For four jonin to willingly insert themselves into a fight – causing the one they were protecting to be automatically forfeited – was a big deal.

Gai took Neji's arm and lead him out of the arena. At first the boy tried to protest on being lead like a child, but his sensei's grip was not something to be argued with. Gai knew that he was not what the boy needed, but he had to do _something _to set his student on the right track.

"Gai-sensei. You didn't need to do that," the Hyuga boy stated once they were back in the stands. Tenten rushed over, but the look she was giving her teammate was not congratulatory, but disappointed. It was almost as if _he _had been the loser.

"_You _didn't need to do that," the kunoichi snapped, "that was entirely uncalled for," she looked for all the world like she was tempted to hit him with her scrolls.

"If fate had decreed that Hinata-sama is not to survi-"

"Neji!" Gai stated. At the tone of his voice, both student's eyes snapped to his. Gai-sensei never spoke in that voice. Gai sensei was silly and funny. Gai sensei was an encouraging father around Lee, a foolish kid around Kakashi, and an oblivious restraining order waiting to happen around Tenten. Gai-sensei did _not _speak to anyone like a disappointed mother, not like he was doing right now.

"Why are you like this, sensei?" Neji frowned, "you should be happy. Even if Lee is in the hospital, all of us passed the first round and two of Kakashi-sensei's students lost. You finally beat your 'Eternal Rival'."

"It is true that I wanted you to win, but…not like this," Gai managed, "that young flower of youth almost died by your hands today, and she may be in the hospital for weeks."

"I do not care," Neji stated loudly. Some of the audience members looked by curiously. Hayate called for Shikamaru and Temari to proceed to the floor.

"Gai-sensei, let's go outside," Tenten said quietly. Gai nodded and took Neji's arm once more, ignoring the boy's protests as he dragged him out of the chunin exam centre.

Once they were outside, Neji's arm was finally released. It seemed that although he was angry that his teammates didn't understand, he _genuinely _did not believe that he had done anything wrong.

"Neji, why did you try to kill her?" Tenten questioned, standing with her arms crossed. She knew that she had a better chance than anyone of getting him to talk. Neji was another person who had no friends, except it was because he didn't want any. He was angry at the world for having ignored him as a child, and when they came back with kind and interested faces once he had established himself as a Hyuga genius, he had nothing but suspicion and contempt to show them.

"I did not try. Fate willed it," he replied stoically.

"Fate is not something that those in the Springtime of Youth should follow," Gai said sternly, "you must carve your way for yourself in order to become a capable shinobi."

"My fate was decided for me when I was born!" Neji spat out, "no one can tell me that it won't be followed, because it has been. And it's helped me!"

"How on earth will permanently injuring Hinata-chan help you?" Tenten yelled. Her voice could rival Lee's any day, and she wasn't holding back, "she respects you! And if you had landed that blow, she could have never fought a match again!"

"She is the one Fate has put against me," Neji finally erupted, "she has been blessed with the entire Hyuga clan at her feet, with everything fed to her as she grew up. And I was the one deemed to serve her for the rest of my life! But Fate has given me something, it has given me strength and skill and power. _That _is something that Hinata-sama will never have, because it belongs to me! Today, she attempted to defy Fate by standing up in the fight when she should have obeyed it and laid down, and Fate permitted me to put her back in her place in the only area where _I _had the advantage."

"You idiot!" Tenten yelled back, "this isn't a competition between you and her! You're the only one who sees this stupid issue, poor Hinata-chan only sees you as the cousin that she greatly respects!"

"Hinata-sama does _not _respect me, she is a member of the Main family," Neji maintained, crossing his arms, "I am only Fated to be a Branch member."

"Fate can be changed, Neji," Tenten said quietly.

"No it can't! Not when one has been branded for life!" Neji stated, pulling off his hitai-ite.

For the majority of his academy days before becoming a genin, the stoic Hyuga boy had worn a leather headband to cover his forehead. It was not unusual; many children wore things on their forehead to mimic the presence of hitai-ite. Naruto had worn his green goggles, and some little girls would wear decorative ribbons. The moment they graduated, they would replace these with the real thing.

Neji had worn the headband for a completely different reason. When he pulled it off, Tenten was surprised to see that his forehead was covered with a green inked pattern.

"This is the Caged Bird seal. I'm _sure _you've seen it on some other Hyuga clan members," Neji said slowly, "it marks me as a Branch member for life."

"But…there are always ways, Neji," Tenten told him softly, biting her lip, "you're a prodigy, if you work for it you can make yourself an exception-"

"There are no exceptions in the Hyuga clan," he replied, retying the hitai-ite on his forehead, "my father was forced to sacrifice himself to protect a Main member. That is the Fate of the Hyuga Branch member."

Gai looked at his two students with a crease in his forehead. When he had first gotten his team, they were complete opposites. Lee had been a boy after his own heart, but to everyone else he was regarded as hopeless. It had been easy for Gai to take this boy with nothing but guts and taijutsu to his name and set him on a path of Hard Work that would make him a genius in his own way.

Tenten had been a curious girl. She was an orphan who lived with a temporary guardian, and was determined to make something of her life in the shinobi world. It had been something Gai respected, and he had explored her potential until they had finally found the weaponry that she naturally took to. Gai came to like the serious but talented girl that helped keep Neji and Lee and…well, _him _in line.

Neji had been completely different. Gai had been given jealous looks by the other jonin-sensei for having gotten the Hyuga genius in his team, but one look at the boy had assured him that he would be a problematic one. He had been unwilling to spar with Lee, who he regarded as a loser, and only Tenten's coaxing had made him a reluctant member of their activities. It was pretty obvious that Tenten had taken to him simply to avoid Lee's…intensity. Gai was convinced that he and Lee would eventually have a wonderful rivalry, but it would take a while to break him out of his obsession with Fate.

"Neji," Gai began, "I don't know how I can convince you of this, but I think that it is something you must learn for yourself. With enough Hard Work, one can change the direction of fate, if such a thing exists. Just look at Lee."

"He has never won against me, and never will," Neji declared.

"I think that one day, Lee will surprise you," Tenten told him seriously, "and what about Sakura-chan? When she left the academy, she was a vain girl on a diet. Some of my temporary guardians were shinobi and even _I _was able to pick up certain skills, but she had _none _of the advantages that most shinobi children have. Now look at her!"

"She lost to Lee," was Neji's only retort.

Gai and Tenten exchanged a look and sighed. It was clear to them that they would have to wait for a small miracle before their teammate had some sense knocked into him.

ooooo

"Alright I'm back, what did I miss?" Naruto asked loudly upon reentering the arena. He had spent the last three hours playing cards with Sakura, just because she mentioned she may have been a little bored.

Kakashi made his way to his side and raised an eyebrow, "a lot of the foreign audience was getting annoyed during Shikamaru and Temari's fight. They thought that Shikamaru was simply stalling and dragging it on in order to delay his loss. But like you said, he was finally able to catch Temari in his Kagemane, and many were relieved. However, he resigned the match after explaining that he was out of chakra. Temari won, but it seems that our Shikamaru has gained a lot of international attention."

"He's a genius," Naruto agreed, "how long did they take?"

"Three hours. We were supposed to have a one-hour break between rounds, but it's been canceled because they took up so much time, and they're trying to finish the tournament in one day."

"Ah. Just like I remembered," he nodded, "the iryounin came back into the room and saw us playing cards on Sasuke's bed. She got _really _mad at us and put Sakura back under sedation for stressing out her injured arm. I got kicked out of the hospital. How much more time until the second round pairings are announced?" He peered over the railing where Hayate was writing on the board.

"It should be any moment now," the jonin explained, "I've been keeping an eye on Shiore. He's been with his teammate Tobi, but so far I haven't seen his other teammate Miyu anywhere."

"Maybe Orochimaru killed her," Naruto muttered, oblivious to the truth in his words.

A few minutes later, Hayate finished writing on the board and raised an arm, calling for attention. The quiet conversation in the audience stopped as he lowered his arm.

"Unfortunately," Hayate began, "it seems that Lee of Konoha will not be able to participate in the next round."

Not surprisingly, there were mumbles of protest running through the audience.

"He is under the care of some of the best iryounin Konoha has to offer, and we all wish him a fast and full recovery," Hayate went on, "but now I will announce the pairings for the next round. Would Tenten of Konoha, Shiore of Kusa, Neji of Konoha, Temari of Suna, and Naruto of Konoha please come forward."

The five of them came rushing down from the stands to stand in front of the special jonin. For some reason, Neji and Tenten were keeping a careful distance from each other. Naruto frowned, and then remembered that he had seen Hinata being carried into the hospital. Their Main-Branch fight must have taken place. Again.

Naruto shook the thoughts from his head as he looked at the pairings. It was time to teach Neji a lesson. Again.

_1. Naruto of Konoha vs. Neji of Konoha_

_2. Tenten of Konoha vs. Shiore of Kusa_

_3. Temari of Suna advances to the next round_

Naruto hardened his resolve. Neji was going to have some sense _beaten _into him.

"I think they gave Temari the bye because the audience was a little tired of seeing her skills for _three hours _straight," Kakashi commented from beside him, "I suppose it was a good time for a lunch break, though. I'm going to go warn Tenten to be careful."

ooooo

When Naruto went down to take his position against Neji, he was already planning how to defeat him. Clearly, he would have to reveal the rasengan, since it seemed that many people in the audience badly wanted to see the new skills of the Turn Around.

However, he first needed to see what Neji thought of him.

"You may begin," Hayate announced, stepping out of the arena. Neji took his jyuuken stance and glared at him.

Naruto didn't bother to take a stance. Instead, he decided to talk.

"So Neji, according to your precious fate, what's going to happen in this match?" He asked lightly, leaning forward on the balls of his feet.

The Hyuga boy's eyes narrowed, "you will lose," he stated, "I was weak all those months ago when we sparred. I am no longer so."

Well, that was puzzling. He seemed extremely convinced of it, so clearly he had learned something. Naruto took a few seconds to think of what it could be. Then it finally clicked. The one thing that Neji had impressed everyone with during the finals. Kaiten.

"How sure are you that you will win?" he asked again.

"As sure as I will ever be," the stoic Hyuga replied.

"What if I told you that your Kaiten won't be fast enough to stop my attacks?" He asked again.

The audience suddenly burst into whispers. So far, none of the opponents had conversed this much. The foreign dignitaries were inquiring amongst themselves on what this 'Kaiten' could be. Hyuga Hiashi had a crease in his forehead as he watched the match.

Neji's eyes narrowed, "how did you know that?"

"Oh really? You know the Kaiten? I was just guessing, actually," Naruto lied, stretching his arms out in front of him.

Neji gritted his teeth, "then you know nothing about Kaiten."

"Go ahead then. Use your produ…prodi…pro…" He stumbled momentarily.

"Prodigious," Neji offered between gritted teeth, giving him a look that questioned the wisdom of allowing someone so stupid to walk around unassisted.

"Yeah, _those _skills against me. Let's see how well you do," he said smugly, both hands on his hips and he left his front wide open.

Neji didn't hesitate. He moved in with a speed that Naruto was very familiar with, and struck out with one palm. The blond boy quickly leapt to one side and allowed Neji's arm to pass into thin air.

Practicing so much with Sasuke had allowed him to regain his famous speed. As the Hyuga boy's palm swept by him, he reached out and tapped his right shoulder before leaping back.

Feeling the light tap on his shoulder, Neji turned around with eyes filled with as much murderous intent as the thirteen year old boy could manage. He came at Naruto again, this time increasing his own speed. He pivoted on his left foot and struck out with his arm, hoping to disable the tenketsu in Naruto's legs in order to slow down his movements.

Naruto was able to move out of the way easily. While he was in the air, he reached down and gently tapped the other boy's arm. With the speeds he was moving at, he could have shattered it if he wanted.

Neji leapt back and fixed Naruto with his glare. The audience watched breathlessly as the two boys stood opposite to each other, the Hyuga in his jyuuken pose and the orange-jumpsuit-boy simply standing with his hands clasped behind his head. To most of them, it had only seemed like Naruto was desperately dodging in order to avoid the strikes, they had not seen the taps. Neji knew, and he felt humiliated.

However, there was one other pair of eyes in the audience that _did _know, and Hyuga Hiashi stared impassively.

"Stop fooling around," Neji ordered, his eyes never leaving his opponent's for a seconds, "get serious, Dead Last."

Dead Last got serious. He figured it was time to push the stubborn boy to his limits and show him that he was overpowered _even then._ Naruto grinned widely and put his hands together.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" he yelled, fingers positioned in the clone seal. Three other clones appeared.

Two of the Naruto clones went to create a diversion by attacking Neji from both sides. The other began to slowly scrape at his Boss's hands. When Neji had finished dispelling the two clones, he turned to see the bright blue ball that had haunted him for weeks.

Naruto rushed forward with his Rasengan in its simplest form. This time, he had speed to his advantage, therefore he no longer _needed _to take the older boy by surprise. He was perfectly capable of driving it directly into his chest.

In the time it took for Naruto to cover two meters, Neji's eyes narrowed, and he stretched one arm out in front of him in a familiar stance.

"Hakkeshou: Kaiten!" He yelled, just beginning to move his hands.

However, Naruto's speed was too high. Activating Kaiten required a full turn, but by the time he had turned halfway, a rush of blond hair had already come into his line of vision.

The audience saw Neji activate his Kaiten. Hyuga Hiashi's eyebrows rose a few millimeters. However, the blue dome was the only thing on the floor; Naruto was gone. Suddenly, the dome vanished. Both opponents had been _inside _the Kaiten, and Naruto's hand was pressed firmly into Neji's chest.

With a moment's pause, the Hyuga boy went flying backwards, and Naruto's hand was revealed to have been holding a blue ball of spinning chakra. The chakra slowly died out, and Naruto slowly walked forwards.

He bit his lip, feeling slightly worried. When he had used it before, it was with the meager chakra that a clone had left. Now, it had been used with a decent amount of power, enough to burrow though a tree. He had managed to hold back a little and Neji's rough shirt helped quite a lot, but he still rushed forward to examine the form of the Hyuga boy on the floor.

As he came closer, Neji slowly placed one hand underneath him and pushed himself up onto his elbows. When he tried to go further, he found that the pain in his front made the task too difficult. Instead, he rested on the backs of his elbows while Naruto came running towards him. He was silent as the blond boy shifted the front of his shirt, seeming to almost _check for damage. _After making sure that the blood was superficial and the wound didn't go very deep, he sat back on his heels with a sheepish grin.

"Sorry about that," the Dead Last told him, "I may have put a little too much chakra into it."

Neji didn't respond.

Hayate walked into the arena, seeing that the Hyuga boy was unable to stand, "the winner is Naruto of Konoha," he stated.

The audience burst into an interested applause, and the medics rushed to take Neji to the hospital on a stretcher. Naruto stood up with a wide smile and waved to his new fans. In reality, his eyes were on one person. When Hyuga Hiashi discreetly left his seat, Naruto knew that Neji's sanity was now in good hands.

ooooo

"Do not worry, dear Flower of Youth! Our Neji has been taught a valuable lesson! There is no need to look so glum!" Gai assured, placing one hand on Tenten's shoulder.

The girl shook it off impatiently, "I'm not worried about _him, _and I'm glad Neji got the sense punched into him_. _I'm worried about _me. _Kakashi-sensei came and warned me that this Shiore person was a lot more than he seemed," she bit her lip.

"Ah, well, he was able to defeat one of Kakashi's youthful students, after all!"

Tenten gulped visibly, "no, I mean, he told me that he was _dangerous _and that he wouldn't hesitate to hurt me badly. I watched his fight against Shigure during the preliminaries and he really didn't seem all that good, but for _Kakashi-sensei _to warn me personally, there must be something…off."

At this, Gai frowned. It was true that this was not the sort of thing Kakashi would do. And since he was aware of the invasion being planned…

"One wrong move and I'll intervene," Gai promised, "do your best, my dear student Tenten," he gave her his signature nice guy pose.

"Well, if you here me scream or anything…" she muttered.

"Would Tenten of Konoha and Shiore of Kusa please come forward?" came Hayate's voice from below.

Tenten walked down into the arena with nerves running thought places she wasn't aware _had _nerves. Shiore was already waiting there when she arrived, standing with one arm on his hip.

"You may begin."

Almost immediately, the arena began to fill with smoke. Tenten leapt up in the air to avoid the grey cloud, taking out two scrolls from behind her back. Shiore was somewhere down there, but she didn't know where. No matter, the shuriken would cover a wide area anyway.

She felt the familiar small bursts of chakra as the weapons dislodged from her scrolls and shot down below into the cloud of smoke. As she reached the highest point in her leap, she realized that among the clashing of metal against the ground, there was no scream of pain, and no thud of metal hitting flesh. Gritting her teeth, she allowed herself to fall into the smoke in order to land on the floor again.

The moment her feet touched the ground, she knew that something was not right. The grey cloud was too thick to be a simple smoke bomb, and it was dissipating extremely slowly. She held her hand up and realized that she could only see half a meter in front of her. It was also obscuring his view of her just as it did the opposite. There was no point in using a tool like this. The entire purpose of the tournament was to showcase skill. But clearly this Shiore boy was _not _showcasing his skill, because no one could see anything but a grey cloud, same as when he had attacked Sasuke. Even if he won, his promotion would be in question because no one actually knew what he could do. That meant that he wasn't really _trying _to become a chunin.

However, it was also true that he had badly injured Sasuke, so he _was _fighting. Then the only reason for this cloud was that he was trying to hide his attacks from the audience, and the only reason _that _could be was if…he was using some sort of kinjutsu.

Tenten's eyes widened as she took in the possibilities. She drew two kunai from the pouches around her waist and held up them before her, trying to protect herself from any frontal attack until the smoke cleared. Why would someone use a kinjutsu while participating in the chunin exams? That Shiore must have some _other _objective apart from becoming a chunin. Was it to kill a certain genin? Well the only ones left were Naruto and Temari. It didn't seem like it would be Naruto; he was just a hard working kid. But Temari was from Suna, and she was the daughter of the Kazekage. There could easily be enemies of her father that were after her blood.

Upon realizing this, Tenten decided that she needed to let someone know. But first, she needed to get out of this blasted smoke.

Bending her knees, she pushed chakra into her feet and prepared to jump out of the smoke cloud. But before she could do so, something attached itself around her waist. It was like a rope, long and thin and rough and…warm.

She tried to slash at it with her kunai, but before she could do so, another living rope tied itself around her kunai hand. Next to her ear, she heard a small hiss, and knew exactly what they were.

Snakes. Shiore was using snakes. Tenten stilled in fear.

She had bad experiences with snakes. In the orphanage where she had grown up, there had been lots of garden snakes that would occasionally slither though the grass of their playing field. Of course, they had been perfectly harmless, but the lady who ran the small orphanage had told them horror stories about how the bad children who didn't go to bed on time were _visited _by the green snakes. And so she'd grown to have a healthy fear of the animals.

Another snake wrapped itself around her chest and attempted to constrain her breathing. As the coils of its body wrapped tightly around her, she struggled and finally brought her other kunai up to slash though one. The animal quickly let go of its grip around her, but instead of falling to the floor, it hissed and reached up to bite her neck.

Tenten gasped as more of the snakes followed the lead. It seemed that there _hadn't _been only two. Shiore had set the smoke bomb, and had summoned dozens of tiny white snakes to cover the entire floor of the arena. He_ couldn't _see where she was through the smoke; he was simply letting the snakes do his job for him.

She struggled as hard as she could against the snakes, but it seemed that they weren't just normal animals; the were summons. Shiore had a summoning contract with the famous and deadly White Snakes.

Slowly, as more fangs sunk into her neck, stomach, and chest, she realized that she was getting drowsy. A few more minutes of the venom, and she would be beyond saving. She desperately kept her eyes open. Gai-sensei had said that he would intervene, but he didn't know where she was in all the smoke. She had to give him some indication of her position. With the last bout of energy she had left, Tenten opened her mouth and screamed as loudly as she could.

ooooo

Naruto was watching wide-eyed. He was leaning so far over the railing that only Kakashi's grip on the back of his shirt was preventing him from falling into the arena. The moment he heard Tenten's scream he prepared to go down and help her immediately, but a green flash was faster than him.

When the smoke cleared, Gai was supporting Tenten as the front of her shirt dripped with blood, and Shiore was…on the other side of the arena. He didn't _seem _like he had leapt back at the last moment, and Naruto could have sworn that he had seen the chakra cloud of a dissipating summons.

"Medics!" the Green Beast yelled. Immediately, three white-cloaked figures were on the floor lifting the unconscious Tenten. Naruto and Kakashi watched in horror as they began to diagnose on the spot, not willing to risk her condition getting worse while they carried her to the hospital. He ran down the stairs and into the arena with Kakashi following.

"…poison," the medics were saying when he arrived breathlessly, "we'll have to cleanse it from her system as soon as possible."

Naruto followed Gai and the medics as they slowly carried Tenten out of the fighting area and laid her down on a mat spread on the floor, being careful not the jostle her and promote the flow of the poison through her body.

"Err…Shiore of Kusa is the winner," Hayate announced quickly, "we will announce the next round in two hours. Please take the time to…have a snack and refresh yourselves," after saying that he rushed to the side of the arena where Tenten was being diagnosed.

"She should be fine," the leader of the iryounin team stated, "but it'll take some time for her to recover. She's a smart girl for calling out so quickly."

Gai nodded, but he looked slightly pale. As the iryounin began to filter the poison from her body, he turned to where Naruto and the other jonin were standing.

"Kakashi," he said quietly, "how did you know about Shiore? She told me you warned her. Is it something to do with Sasuke?"

"We think he's one of Orochimaru's plants," Kakashi told him.

Gai nodded, "that would explain the snake bites."

"Snake…bites?"

"Yes. They were all over her," the other jonin explained, "small circular bite marks. I'd recognize them anywhere."

"Oh…I originally though they were ninken bites. But…no one should be able to use the White Snakes apart from Orochimaru and Anko," Kakashi frowned at the option it left them.

"Well, he _was _the person who Orochimaru took the form off…" Naruto trailed, "but why would he enter into the tournament? If he wanted to see Sasuke's skills for himself, he would have dropped out or stopped. Why is he still participating?"

"Well he can't be after Tenten, so the obvious option is you, Naruto," Kakashi postulated, "he could be after you because of your…condition."

"Young Naruto-kun has been informed of it?" Gai asked sharply.

"Yeah," Naruto confirmed, "I know about the fox."

"Then you must drop out of the tournament now! We can't risk you falling into his hands," Gai exclaimed, "I realize how unyouthful this sounds, but if that boy truly is Orochimaru…"

"it's ok, bushier-brow sensei. I won't let him use that smoke screen," Naruto told him firmly.

"Well, it seems that your match against him will be the last," Kakashi commented, "both you and Temari have both been given byes already, which means that he will have the last one."

"Can you defeat that youthful Suna girl?" Gai asked him.

"Yeah. She's good, but I can do it," Naruto confirmed.

ooooo

"Ooooh," Tobi gushed in awe as he took in the sight of the three wooden coffins standing in the room, "what are _those, _Orochimaru-senpai?" his senpai had come back in his Shiore-henge a short while ago, saying that he had two hours before he was needed back in the arena.

"These are what were contained in the summoning scrolls," the snake sannin told him, personally delighted at his success, "soon I will be able to summon them without the scrolls. They are my army."

"They don't look like a very large army, senpai," Tobi commented.

"Quality is superior to quantity, Tobi," Orochimaru chided, "would you like to see what's inside?"

"Tobi would like that very much!" The masked Akatsuki figure nodded.

The snake sannin raised one arm, and the lids of all three wooden coffins slowly opened, revealing the figures standing inside, motionless.

"Oooh," Tobi gasped, "Shodai Hokage-sama, Nidaime Hokage-sama and…him too?"

"Well," the snake sannin chuckled and pushed his curtain of white hair over his shoulder, "his body was there for the taking, after all. I didn't even need to go _grave exploring _for him…" He turned to look at the masked Akatsuki figure, "look, if you are truly a part of the Akatsuki, you must be powerful in _some _way, correct?"

"Tobi is a good boy," Tobi agreed happily.

Orochimaru sighed, "I mean, is it possible for me to trust you with a delicate matter?"

"Tobi will do anything Orochimaru-senpai says!"

"You see, I've ensured that Uchiha Sasuke will remain unconscious in the hospital for a few days so that he will be easy to retrieve. Your job tomorrow will be to _take him and get out. _I will bring the Kyuubi's Jinchuuriki, but I have no time to collect the Uchiha boy as well. Besides, I'm looking forward to a nice spar with my old sensei..."

"Tobi has such an intelligent senpai," the masked figured stated happily, "his plans are so clever". He was tempted to use Orochimaru's current state of delight as an excuse to hug him, but he refrained because he still had a little crack in the corner of his mask from when he had tried that last time.

ooooo

"You may go in now," the iryounin told him. Gai nodded and stepped aside as Hyuga Hiashi came out of the hospital room. The Hyuga clan leader gave him a small nod and turned away.

Inside was Neji, sitting up at his bed. He was wearing a plain white hospital gown and his chest had been wrapped up in bandages. His hitai-ite was clutched in his hand, leaving the green markings bare on his forehead. Upon seeing the green tights, he sat up straighter. His eyes held a curious look, but it was a vast improvement from the look that he had radiated only a few hours earlier.

"Gai-sensei," he acknowledged, "I apologize for keeping you waiting."

"Oh no, it's fine. I figured I'd let Hiashi take his time with you," the jonin replied. Neji frowned briefly at the lack of proper respect for his clan leader, but then he clamed down and asked himself if he had _really _expected his strange sensei to uphold proper etiquette.

"I was with the Youthful Flower Tenten," Gai continued, "it took an hour for her to wake up. She'd been poisoned most unyouthfully."

"She lost?" Neji frowned, "well, she lasted longer than I did…"

"Her unyouthful opponent is under investigation for kinjutsu," Gai reported.

"Ah," was the only thing Neji could manage. He thought of his teammate who had tried so hard to make him see reason, "is she awake now?"

"Yes," Gai held out his arm for support, "yosh! We will go see her. She is in another room with Lee."

Neji reached into the jar of water beside his bead and removed the small bundle of white carnations that Hiashi-sama's servant had brought him earlier. Unlike his sensei, who had come empty handed, he knew how to visit a patient properly. Once the flowers were in his hands, he clasped onto Gai's arm with as much dignity as he could manage and tried not to jostle the bandages on his chest as he was lead out of the room.

When they reached Tenten's room, she was sitting partially upright in her bed. Her hair had been taken out of her two buns, and it fell loose down her shoulders. Upon seeing them, she grinned and waved. In the next bed after her was Lee, but he was still sedated. On the other side of the room were Sasuke and Sakura. Sasuke had yet to wake up, and Sakura had been given sleeping pills after the iryounin had seen her out of bed.

Neji walked over to his teammate with the bundle of carnations and slipped them into the glass of water near her bed. Tenten watched him curiously, and smiled. That small gesture of friendship was something that her stoic teammate hadn't ever seemed capable of doing.

"I heard about your fight," he managed to tell her.

"Yeah. I couldn't even move against the snakes," Tenten sighed, "I still don't have any feeling in my chest and stomach. The iryounin say it'll take a while for the poison to leave completely. I reported what I could to the proctors and they're trying to investigate Shiore."

Neji didn't say anything, but the expression on his face told them that he had felt equally helpless during the end of his own fight.

"Yosh! All three of my students fought so well during the exams!" Gai exclaimed, "there could not be a prouder sensei in Konoha!"

"Thank you," Tenten told him earnestly, "we could not have done it without your training." When he wasn't trying to make her sweat from every pore in her body, he was a fairly considerate sensei and an encouraging mentor.

"In fact," Gai went on, "My dear students are currently in the prime of their Youth! When young Lee finally wakes, we will have a celebration of your youthfulness! I will gladly treat you three to a special Team Nine dinner at whichever place of your choosing!"

"Gai-sensei," Neji began stiffly, remembering a time when he and Tenten had to clean the dishes in a restaurant to help pay for Gai's 'treat' while Lee had carried the drunk jonin home, "please check your wallet _before _you say these things…"


	19. The Three Kage

**It's up! Thanks for all the wonderful reviews, and enjoy the chapter ^^**

**Chapter 19 – The Three Kage **

One hour later, Naruto and Temari were both on the floor of the arena. Naruto was holding his position, taijutsu stance open and the remnants of a rasengan in his hand. Temari was four meters away, her entire fan open and shielding her as she caught her breath from the exertion.

This was the second last match, and the winner would face Shiore. The audience was filled with tension, because it was no longer a simple match between children. No, this was Konoha versus. Suna versus. that tiny Kusa village that no one had really heard of before. The Suna dignitaries all had various amounts of money on their Kazekage's daughter, who seemed to now be of greater interest than Gaara. Every Konoha citizen in the audience was reluctantly cheering for Naruto, only because they'd rather cheer for the demon fox from their _own _village than the Suna girl. The younger Konoha citizens were much more open in their support, and the rest of the rookie nine were looking at him in a new light.

Tenten's information had reached the Hokage, and an investigation had been sent out to find and question Shiore of Kusa. Of course, it was all done very discreetly because they didn't want to offend any of the foreigners, but so far Shiore was nowhere to be found.

"Ok, we're not getting very far with the simple stuff," Temari finally said, moving her fan out of its defensive position, "let's see if you can survive something I learned this month," her hair was damp with sweat but as someone used to the desert heat, she barely noticed it.

Naruto held his defense. He didn't know enough about Temari's skill to know what she was talking about, and he wasn't going to take risks. The Suna girl was a year older than his current body, and she had been trained by one of the most skilled jonin in Sunagakure. Since there was no way he could reveal something like bijuu mode, and rasenshuriken would probably kill her, he had to be careful. He couldn't underestimate her, and he _had _to win this match or else she'd be hurt in the next fight against the disguised Orochimaru.

She bit one finger and dragged the blood over her fan.

"Kuchiose: Kirikiri Mai!"

Naruto's eyes widened. He vaguely remembered something about slicing winds as he pushed chakra into his legs. He only had milliseconds to decide where he would dodge, and luckily, he chose to go upwards.

A whirlwind swept underneath his feet, strong enough to almost sent him crashing against the wall. He managed to flip around to see a white figure rushing through the ground he had just been standing on. When it reached the other side, it stopped, allowing him to take a look at it.

A white weasel stared back at him with one exposed eye. Around it, the floor of the arena had been scratched to pieces. He had no doubt that if he had been standing there, he would have sported similar gashes.

"Kamatari!" Temari yelled. The weasel rushed back to her side in the blink of an eye, and Naruto could barely manage to follow its speeds. Had Temari really been this good while she was a genin? Had she really been able to use a summons, or was this another change?

Naruto leapt back to the floor and gritted his teeth. It was better to end this soon. He bit one finger and pushed it into the ground.

"Kuchiose!"

He had learned how to summon the toads right beneath him a long time ago, and the one he had asked for appeared immediately underneath his feet. At first he had thought of summoning Gamatatsu or Gamakichi, but he realized that at this point in time they were probably small enough to fit on his head. Likewise, Gamaken wasn't the giant toad he would grow up to be, and was only twice Naruto's size.

"Oh, hello Naruto-kun," the large toad lumbered, lifting his sasumata.

"Hey, Gamaken-san!" Naruto greeted, "I need you to help me out."

"So you have a summons too?" Temari asked, eyeing the toad as she swung her fan over one shoulder, "that's pretty impressive for a kid."

"You're a kid too," the blond boy pointed out.

"Am not! I'm almost fourteen!" The Suna girl protested.

"What should I do?" The toad underneath him asked. Naruto jumped off and landed swiftly on the ground next to him.

"I need you to take care of that weasel," he explained, "he uses wind attacks."

"Ok," Gamaken agreed in a low voice, "but…I'm very clumsy."

"As long as Kamatari doesn't get near me, I'll be happy," Naruto told him, "I'm going to end this with Temari."

"Oh, talking big already?" The Suna girl asked, swinging her fan down and ready to attack.

Naruto saw Gamaken rushing to attack the weasel. He knew that the toad wouldn't last too long against Kamatari's speed, so he needed to attack quickly.

Summoning a large amount of chakra to his palms, he placed his hands together and his fingers fell into the clone seal

"Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" he yelled. For the sheer amount of chakra he had put in, over fifty clones appeared. At this, Temari looked just slightly intimidated, but she figured that her long-range attacks could take out many at once.

She prepared her fan and sent a blast of sharp wind whirling towards Naruto, making sure not to send any in Kamatari's direction while he held up Gamaken. In the ensuring cloud of chakra, dozens of clones disappeared. However when the cloud cleared, all she could see was dozens more clones, all coming at her with whirling blue balls in their hands.

Panicking slightly, she sent another blast just as powerful as her first, and watched in satisfaction as the winds decimated Naruto's clones.

Nearby, Kamatari landed his first direct hit on Gamaken. On any human, it would have gashed into the bone, but Gamaken's toad skin was thick and strong, and it barely made a scratch. The toad's giant sasumata went swinging towards the weasel, but it met with empty air as the one-eyed animal dodged expertly.

Temari only gave their summons' fight a cursory glance before turning back to the sea of Narutos. It seemed almost impossible to hold them all off, and she was even beginning to run out of chakra. As she cut their numbers in half again with another blast of wind, she noticed that the _clones _were making more clones. She frowned as she considered the implication. When the user created more clones, chakra would be spread evenly among them. However, when clones created clones, the clone's own chakra was cut in half. That was why it wasn't a good tactic for battle; because you were left with lots of extremely weak clones that would dispel in a strong breeze.

However she'd already attacked three times, which meant that the _clones of the clones of Naruto's clones were making clones. _The very idea was unbelievable.

She gulped as she sent another blast of wind at her opponent. For him to be able to do this meant that his chakra reserves were enormous. Her own reserves were quite good, but she was running out, and he didn't even seem to notice the chakra dip.

Sighing, she signaled to Kamatari and watched as the weasel disappeared.

"I resign," she said loudly.

"Hmm?" Naruto asked. He raised an arm and all the clones disappeared. The blue ball of chakra in his hand slowly spun out of existence, "you're giving up?"

"Yeah," she sighed, "I'm running out of chakra while you will have a ridiculous amount of it. If I fight longer, I'm going to end up hit by one of those blue balls, and then I'll only end up in the hospital," Temari folded up her fan and swung it over her shoulder, "congratulations, Konoha nin."

Hayate Gekkou smiled and stepped onto the floor, "Naruto of Konoha is the winner," he announced. Naruto merely smiled at the Suna girl. It seemed that she was taking a page out of Shikamaru's book.

The audience burst into applause. With all the summoned animals, clones, and elemental techniques, it had definitely been the flashiest fight so far. The Konoha citizens in the audience were cheering loudly, while even the Suna representatives were smiling and clapping at the impressive show their Kazekage's daughter had put up. The person cheering the loudest was Jiraiya of the Sannin, clapping and yelling praises and the boy who had used his summons so well. Kakashi stood awkwardly still beside him. The jonin probably thought that he was doing enough cheering for the both of them.

"You can go now, Gamaken-san," Naruto told the giant toad, "thanks for your help."

"No problem. I hope I wasn't too clumsy," the toad lumbered before disappeared in its cloud of chakra.

"Well, that was probably the show of the day," his sensei commented when Naruto made his way back up into the stands, "genin using summons is quite rare."

"I didn't know she could do that," Naruto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, "I was just lucky I didn't dodge to the side when Kamatari came at me, or you would have to carry me to the hospital in pieces."

ooooo

Over seventy kilometers away, two figures were standing in front of a small, cheap inn.

"Here? Really? Even the workless people back in Kiri could afford to stay in a better place," one of the figures commented loudly, "if this is it, I feel really sorry for that religious nut."

"He is mindful of our finances. This is definitely where he would have stayed," the second figure said in a more quiet tone, "and all the evidence points to this small village."

"Well fine, let's go," the first figure shrugged. He swung a large bandage-wrapped shape off his shoulder and used it to push the door of the inn open.

Inside, an old man was sitting behind a rickety main desk with a newspaper. He was the frail type who looked like he would crumble to pieces if you simply looked at him too strongly. When the two figures entered, he stood up and folded the newspaper away, eyeing the giant, handled…_thing…_that was swung over the first man's shoulder.

The two visitors were in long travel cloaks, which wasn't too unusual for this time of year. It was getting chilly out, after all. What _was _unusual was that they were both wearing large, wide-brimmed hats. He had to squint just to see their faces.

"How many?" He asked, settling into old habit.

"We are not here to rent rooms," Uchiha Itachi told him softly, "we would like to enquire about a few guests that you may have had. Their names were Hidan and Kakuzu."

"Don't remember," the old man stated bluntly, "I get far too many people to be recalling each and every one of em."

"Doesn't seem like you get any at all," Kisame muttered, looking around the dilapidated place, "but this _is_ exactly the kind of place that Kakuzu would seek out."

"Buy rooms or go," the old man stated, settling back down with his newspaper.

"Their appearances are very unusual," Itachi tried again, "Kakuzu had a tendency to cover the lower half of his face with-"

"One of them was wearing way too much and the other was half-naked," Kisame interrupted, "remember now?"

"Ah, grey haired one without a shirt who carried some sort of scythe? I think I do recall that boy. He left with the masked one," the man scratched his stubbly chin as he thought.

"Yes. Except, the second person was not masked, he simply wore a very high collar," Itachi confirmed.

"No, he had a mask on. There were two weirdos who rented rooms first, and the half-naked one was one of em. Then there were two other boys who weren't so weird, and one of em had a mask on. He left with the half-naked one while the little kid left with the other weirdo, I remember…" the old man recalled.

"Wait, a little kid?" Kisame asked, tilting his blue head to one side, "So Hidan and Kakuzu came here together, but left with different people?"

"That certainly is strange…" Itachi trailed, "do you know the names of these other two?"

"Nah. I don't bother with names," the old man dismissed, "why are you looking for em?"

"They've gone missing," the older Uchiha told him, "we're trying to find them. Can you describe these other two who were not Hidan or Kakuzu?" he pulled out a bingo book from his pocket and held it open, ready to search.

The man scratched his chin, "don't know how much I can help, but I'll give it a shot. The older one had white hair and wore a mask that went up to his eyes. He also had some sort of headband tied around his head, and it covered one of his eyes. That's really all I remember of him."

That was all Uchiha Itachi needed. Nimble fingers flipped though the bingo book's five hundred thin pages, and an eye that briefly flashed with red quickly scanned the picture that accompanied every entry. Finally, he stopped on one page and held up the book.

"Is it this one?" He asked, pointing to the picture of a Konoha nin.

"Looks damn familiar," the old man nodded.

Kisame grabbed the bingo book and looked at the entry, "Hatake…Kakashi? The White Fang's son? Why would he be hunting us?"

"And the other one?" Itachi pressed, "the younger one?"

"Oh, well, he was just some ten year old kid. Blond. Kinda short. Spoke really loudly."

"There are only seven entries of anyone under the age of twelve, and none of them are blond," Kisame commented, "but somehow this kid dealt with Kakuzu."

Itachi nodded and turned back to the innkeeper, "do you know what direction Hatake-san went with Hidan?"

"Out back," came the simply reply, "little forest at the edge of the village. Somewhere there."

"Thank you for your assistance," Itachi told him, nodding. Beside him, Kisame looked like he badly wanted to kill the man just to cover their tracks, but the older Uchiha quickly turned around and left the inn.

"The kid could've been a henge," Kisame commented as they walked to the edge of the village, "it could've been that sage teammate of Orochimaru's who's been keeping an eye on him."

Itachi did not bother with a response.

The Kiri missing-nin was familiar with his combat partner's silences, "I'd love to get my hands on the new Hatake," he went on, "you know, the White Fang was sent to the frontlines in the Second War. Every shinobi of Kirigakure was out for his blood. They said that if someone managed to capture him, he'd be promoted to the central war council on the spot."

"What good would someone like that be on an advisory council?" Was Itachi's only soft remark.

"It was the thought that mattered," Kisame shrugged, "I wonder how he managed to take out Hidan. Seeing as he stabbed himself on a daily basis, I'm pretty sure his boasts of immortality weren't all full of hot air."

"He eats. He sleeps. He breathes. Therefore he can be killed," Itachi replied stoically, "stay quiet and look for any signs of a fight," he instructed as they entered the forest.

In fact, they didn't really need to look very hard. Ten meters into the sparse forest, they were greeted with a strange sight. A small circular clearing in the forest was surrounded with blackened trees. Simply looking at one of the burn marks was enough to determine that they had been created by paper bombs. On the ground, the hint of soot was visible underneath layers of moss and leaves. And in the centre of the clearing, the ground bulged slightly inward, as if there was a large pit in the earth.

"Kisame," Itachi said sharply, looking at the ground in the middle.

His partner understood immediately, and was already heading towards the area with his giant sword. He used the weapon to easily hack at the ground and lift away large piles of dirt and rock.

Five minutes later, his sword first hit something squishy.

"Itachi. Look at this," the kiri nin called, lifting his sword away. Where before its bandages had come out brown with dirt, its tip was now smothered in coagulated blood.

The older Uchiha walked over to peer into the pit Kisame had dug. Inside, was a piece of flesh.

"Move the dirt away," Itachi instructed. As the large sword came back in and pushed away the dirt around the flesh, they could see that it was unmistakably a human arm. The skin had long grown purple, but the cylindrical shape gave it away.

The Uchiha waited patiently as Kisame went back in with his sword and shifted around more of the dirt near the arm. Eventually, it revealed a twisted hand, long pale strings that resembled intestines, and a small pink bag that Itachi assumed was a stomach. It took them five more minutes before they finally came to what was left of Hidan's head.

"So, do you think we can piece him back together? He's immortal, right? He lost an arm once and Kakuzu stitched it back on, didn't he?" Despite his words, he was looking rather unimpressed at the rotting flesh in the pit. Clearly, he wasn't looking forward to that particular sewing job.

"No. His body has long since died of hunger," Itachi commented impassively, "but at least we now know what happened to him. The best course of action to take would be to bring Hatake Kakashi back with us to Pein-sama."

"The White Fang's son, eh? Well, that _does _sound interesting," Kisame chuckled.

ooooo

"Is everything ready?" Naruto asked for the fiftieth time, "because according to Gaara, this is when he'll do it. During our fight."

"Everything's fine, Naruto-kun. Gai is in the hospital keeping an eye on Sasuke while his students recover, and Anko and Jiraiya-san are with Sandaime-sama. Since I know about the genjutsu, I'll dispel it as soon as its cast. My Sharingan can see through all genjutsu."

"And I'm right here," Shizune added, "ready to patch everyone up." As a new full fledged member of the hospital, she was complemented on her skills almost every day and was slowly gaining confidence in them.

"I'm still worried…" Naruto whined, "my fight starts in five minutes."

"You'll be fine," the jonin assured, "he's weakened, after all."

"I'm not worried about _me, _sensei. I'm going to give that snake-face a good butt-kicking. I'm worried about Sasuke and Sandaime-jiji and Ero-Sennin…"

"Well don't be. Gai-san will protect Sasuke with his life and the others can all look after themselves," Shizune told him, smiling, "this time your friend will be safe, Naruto-kun."

"More importantly, do you have a way of dealing with that smoke screen?" Kakashi asked.

"Yeah. I'm a wind type, remember?" The blond boy grinned, "I'll use rasengan and slowly spiral the wind outwards if he throws another smoke bomb."

"And how are you going to defeat him?" Shizune questioned.

"If it gets to it, I have three clones at Mount Myoboku. It's a lot faster to dispel them than to sit and gather natural chakra during a fight. I won't risk using bijuu mode, but sage mode should be fine because everyone knows that I've been training with Ero-Sennin, and he's the most famous sage alive," he told her, "they'll just think I'm a genius". Shizune looked reassured and placed Tonton down on the floor.

"Our last tournament match will now be starting," Hayate announced, "would Naruto of Konoha and Shiore of Kusa please come forward."

"Stick to the plan, Naruto-kun," came Kakashi's calming voice from behind him. Shizune reached out to briefly squeeze his shoulder before gently pushing him forward. Naruto gulped heavily, and then unzipped his orange jacket. He removed it and laid it carefully over a chair before making his way down the stairs in his white shirt.

Once again, Shiore was the first one standing in position. Naruto took his stance opposite to him and narrowed his eyes.

"You may begin."

Naruto slowly sent chakra into his palm, and prepared to form the Rasengan and use it to dissipate the smoke, but Shiore made no move to take out any smoke bombs. Instead, the Kusa nin's face smiled. He looked exactly like the boy that had first entered Konoha with his Kusa teammates, but Naruto became certain that he was facing Orochimaru. It was in the way he allowed the boy's hair to fall into his face, the way he walked, the way he smiled as if he wanted to see a body on his dissection table. The way he wore a katana at his hip that the real Shiore never had.

"You won't win against me," he said, "I can summon the White Snakes. I believe they rather like toad meat."

A series of gasps ran through the audience. The only person who was widely known to summon the White Snakes was Orochimaru of the Sannin himself. Naruto gritted his teeth; saying that out loud was an intelligent move. If he had begun using the technique immediately, the proctors may have stopped him and had him questioned. However, since he was admitting it openly, it only looked like he was a genius who had nothing to hide. A genius who had managed to perform the summoning contract for the White Snakes.

"Then let's see it," Naruto growled, eyes widening.

"Sure. In fact, they're great for _capturing _people," Orochimaru's twisted Shiore's face into another grin, "Kuchiose: Sen'ei Tajashu."

Suddenly, many snakes began to emerge from his hand. They slithered out, hissing and seeking out their target, and Orochimaru pointed them towards Naruto. At once, they began to slither across the arena floor.

"Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Naruto yelled. Twenty clones appeared around him and rushed towards the snakes with kunai in their hands. However, the white snakes were to fast. Clones erupted into smoke as the snakes evaded their kunai and lashed out at them.

"Nothing like that will work against my snakes," Shiore snickered.

There was no more time to play it simple. This was Orochimaru in front of him. He was one of the legendary Sannin, and he was probably only slightly below the level of someone like Nagato. His hand came together to form the familiar blue ball, except instead of remaining small, it grew. Soon, it was almost as big as he was, and the eyes of everyone in the audience were wide.

_Boy, do you want me to add to it? _Came Kurama's serious voice.

_Help out in anyway you can, but make sure you hide it, _Naruto instructed.

"Oodama Rasengen!" he yelled, pushing the ball towards the snakes. Normally, this wouldn't have done anything, but if one had looked close enough inside the rasengan, they would have seen thin spirals of bright orange chakra along with the blue.

The snakes fought against the rasengan, but it was mostly hopeless. Kyuubi's corrosive chakra came out in its slow spirals and destroyed all the flesh it touched. When Naruto leapt back, many of the snakes were headless, and some were retreating into Orochimaru's sleeves.

The audience remained in its stunned silence as the giant blue ball dissipated.

"White Snakes don't seem so great if that's all they can do," Naruto said loudly, keeping his defensive stance.

"You haven't seen much of what _I _can do," Shiore's mouth pulled into a smile. He slowly drew the katana at his hip and rushed forwards.

Naruto took out a kunai and easily blocked the path of the katana His eyes widened when the metal of the kunai was sliced in half as easily as wood. Seeing the blade rush towards him, he leapt back at the last second and turned to see it slice through the air.

Shiore chuckled when the blond boy looked curiously at the remains of his kunai, "my blade can cut through anything," he boasted, "no mere _kunai _can stand against it."

Naruto gritted his teeth. Then this was probably the Blade of Kusanagi that Ero-Sennin had once told him of. He considered going back in with another Oodama Rasengan, but before he could ponder it, Shiore's – Orochimaru's – hands came back together to begin forming seals. The sequence wasn't something that Naruto recognized.

"Fuuton: Daitoppa!"

"Kage Bunshin!"

A giant rush of hurricane wind came screaming at him, and Naruto ducked as it ripped though dozens of clones he had summoned to protect him. When he realized that the clones bodies would not be enough to stop the wind, he quickly bit his finger and slammed it against the ground in front of him.

"Kuchiose!"

The audience watched with bated breath as the wind cleared to reveal Naruto hiding behind a large orange toad. When the wind died away, he came out from behind the animal to face it.

"Naruto-kun, right?" Gamabunta said, "the boy who gained out contract a few months ago?"

"Yeah," Naruto said hurriedly, "listen, I need you to defend me against his attacks. I'll take care of attacking and everything else."

"Defense, huh? Jiraiya never summons me for that," the toad mumbled.

"It's important. This guy can summon the snakes, and I don't have all of Ero-Sennin's needle hair," he explained, "and avoid his katana. It can slice through anything."

Before he could elaborate further, he caught a momentary flash and threw himself out of the way as Kusanagi extended to lodge in the wall behind him. Within a flash, it had retreated and was once again a normal sized katana. It had happened so quickly that no one in the audience had even seen the blade extend.

"Got it, kid," Bunta declared, raising his tanto and holding it two-handed.

On the other side of the arena, Orochimaru looked like he was getting a little tired at all the hide and seek.

"Fuuton: Daitoppa!" he yelled again. Even as he said it, more snakes began to escape from his sleeves. They dropped onto the floor from his arms as his fingers completed the hand seals. Naruto watched them with rising anxiety. When they all began to open their mouths and produce blades that seemed similar to Kusanagi, he began to worry.

Once again, he hid behind Gamabunta's strong skin as the whirlwinds swept past him. Instead of simply dodging, he put both hands together. It was clear that defeating Orochimaru with just the rasengan was almost impossible. It was time to use _that. _

As the winds of the Daitoppa rushed and swirled around where he was safely protected behind his summons, Naruto quickly dispelled one of the clones set at Mount Myoboku, and felt the rush of natural chakra flow into his system. Along with his own, and the Kyuubi's, it was slightly nauseating for a second. One part that he _definitely _liked was the fact that the clone had been wearing the sage cloak he usually left at Mount Myoboku. When it dispelled, Naruto felt its comforting weight settle around his shoulders, on top of his white shirt.

"Are you going to come out from behind your toad?" Orochimaru asked lightly, tossing Kusanagi between his hands, "or do you plan to cower there for the rest of the fight?"

"I'm coming out," Naruto announced. When he finally stood up and made his way around the toad, every shinobi member of the audience gasped. If they hadn't seen the orange markings around his clearly animalistic eyes, they saw the swirling cloak that declared him a sage.

Many of the jonin began to talk. First there were genin who could use weasel summons, then there was a genin who could use the White Snakes, and now there was a genin _sage_? It was all too hard to believe. Some had been lead to think that the finals would be boring since both Gaara the Kazekage's son and Uchiha Sasuke, Konoha's darling, had been eliminated. They were reassessing.

Of course, Jiraiya was happily cheering like a crazy person when he saw Naruto come out with the finished sage mode. Kakashi stood beside him while trying to mentally convey that he did not know him.

"Oh, so you have more tricks up your sleeve?" Orochimaru's voice was silky, but Naruto could sense was he was getting slightly worried. Nevertheless, the white snakes all wielding Kusanagi's twins came rushing at him.

Naruto shot over twenty clones to keep them off for seconds. Then his hands immediately came together and he poured chakra into them, "Senpou: Choudama Rasengan!"

The ridiculously large sphere appeared instantly in Naruto's hand. However, instead of throwing it or striking with it, he smashed it down into the ground. The impact from the blast created a small wave of chakra that eliminated the rest of Naruto's clones, and sent all the White Snakes flying towards the walls of the arena. They were lucky that the floor was separated from the viewing stands by walls of solid stone, or the audience would have felt the small quake in their seats.

When the rasengan had dissipated, Naruto looked up to see the bodies of dozens of dead snakes drop to the ground from where they had shielded Orochimaru from the blow.

"How many of those stupid snakes do you have?" Naruto asked loudly.

"Enough to make them expendable," was Orochimaru's only response. He had decided to put the White Snake techniques aside for now and attack with kenjutsu. Placing one foot behind him, he sprung forwards and launched towards Naruto, Kusanagi held firmly in both hands.

Naruto was perfectly fine with the taijutsu. Sage mode gave him enhanced senses, and he was able to easily see Orochimaru's fastest moves. As the henge rushed towards him, he side stepped with sage mode's speed. Beside him, the blade extended. While he was still in the air, he took a page out of Sakura's book and curved his hands into a fist, reaching back down to land a punch on the shoulder of his henge. It wasn't very strong, but it was enough to at least but some strain on his shoulder bone. Maybe if he was lucky he would break it.

However, just as his hand touched the edge of his shoulder, Shiore's body…burst into smoke?

A clone. Naruto leapt back and kept both arms in front of him. Nearby, Bunta was ready and prepared to shield him from any other attacks. He looked around, searching for Shiore's body and Orochimaru's mind. He didn't drop his guard for a second.

Seconds passed by and Naruto wondered how long he was planning to stall. At that point, Hayate, who was still a little shocked from the match, walked into the arena.

"Er…if Shiore of Kusa does not show himself, it will be taken as a resignation. It has already been sixty seconds."

However, the silence was still there.

"Alright, N-"

Before he could finish the sentence, Naruto felt the slight change in air currents that indicated a shunshin. He quickly fell down and pressed himself to the ground, feeling the sweep of a katana as it passed above him. When he looked back up, a tall man in Kazekage robes was standing in front of him, Kusanagi in hand. The kage hat was off his head, and Naruto realized that he was still in the henge of the Kazekage.

Orochimaru looked around in the stands, and a small frown took over his face. He could have sworn he had cast the genjutsu a minute ago, but now it didn't seem like anyone was under it. He scanned the crowd, and then he spotted Hatake Kakashi. The white-haired jonin had his hands together in a seal, and was dispelling the genjutsu as it was cast.

No matter, the Ichibi's Jinchuuriki would be enough to distract the jonin and anbu. He turned to Gaara, who was standing behind the railing closest to him.

"Gaara, do it," he ordered.

Naruto watched as the red haired boy stood up. Beside him, both his siblings were standing as well, they had been informed of the plan.

"People of Konoha and Suna," Gaara said loudly, ignoring the 'Kazekage's' frown, "this person is not the Kazekage."

Loud whispers began to permeate the audience as they looked at the small Suna boy with the large voice. One particular jonin, Baki, stood up to protest.

Before he could say anything, Gaara went on, "this man killed my father, the Kazekage, and is under henge. He is Orochimaru of the Sannin. Please leave the building immediately."

The stunned whispered were suddenly broken as people stumbled to their feet. Dignitaries were lead out by their servants, civilians ran screaming, and the jonin of Konoha were already making their way down to help fight the intruder. The Hokage had long since left his balcony seat and was standing in front of Naruto protectively. Around him were his personal anbu squad, weapons drawn and in the open.

Orochimaru had given up on his henge, and was standing with his eyes narrowed, hissing slowly. Naruto was startled as he realized that he snake sannin had already preformed the body transfer. The purple markings were the same, but the structure of his face was slightly different, and long white hair went down to his chest in place of black. That meant that he was no longer weakened, and would be much harder to defeat. Orochimaru eyed his old sensei and all the anbu and jonin gathered around, and decided that this was the only time he could do it.

"Do not move!" The anbu first division captain ordered, sending a kunai flying to him as Orochimaru knelt down and pressed his hands against the ground. His chakra leaked out to form a seal beneath him.

"Kuchiose: Edo Tensei!" he yelled.

Before any of them could move, three large wooden coffins had appeared in front of him. Slowly, their lids opened to reveal the people inside.

Every anbu in squad one, all four jonin-sensei present, and four special jonin – Anko included – stilled in shock. It was one thing to hear that the dead had been resurrected, but to actually _see _them…Anko's hands tightened around her kunai.

"It's nice to see you again, sensei," Orochimaru said softly, "but I'm only here for Uzumaki Naruto."

"We will never allow him to be part of your experiments," Sarutobi Hiruzen said sternly, "what do those dolls do?" He looked curiously at the life sized figures of his two successors.

"Oh, they aren't dolls," Orochimaru grinned, "these are the real thing! The Edo Tensei, first created by the Nidaime Hokage, and perfected by _me. _How do you feel about facing your predecessors?"

The Sandaime said nothing, fixing his old student with a strange look.

Beside Kakashi, Jiraiya was watching with wide eyes, "so this is the Edo Tensei, eh?" He felt Gaara rush to his side along with Kankuro and Temari, and turned to see them, "that third one, he's a Kazekage, isn't he?"

"Yes," Gaara replied simply, "that is my father."

ooooo

"Jiraiya-san," Kakashi said softly, "my ninken have made sure that there are no civilians for a good kilometer around this area. It would be better if you remained here to aid the anbu and jonin fight and seal the Nidaime while Sandaime-sama deals with Orochimaru. Naruto and I will take the Shodai away from here. His jutsu are very long range, and may damage the village further than we want," he looked at Gaara, as if mentally asking him whether he was correct in assuming that the boy would take his father on by himself. Gaara simply nodded, agreeing. He knew the Gold Dust better than anyone else, it only made sense for him to fight it.

"Sure. Don't let anything happen to Orange-kun," Jiraiya told him with a small smile, "I like that kid."

Beside him, Gaara had stepped up to the third coffin.

"Father," he addressed, "you have been reanimated from the dead by the person who killed you."

The Yondaime Kazekage looked at his son disapprovingly, and then turned to see Orochimaru. His eyes hardened and one arm came up to summon his gold sand and destroy his murderer. However, it was stopped halfway.

"My Edo Tensei summons cannot fight against me," Orochimaru chuckled, "your orders are to eliminate the shinobi who protect Uzumaki Naruto."

"I protect him!" Gaara declared, "I will fight you."

"Gaara-san," one of the anbu whispered to him, "is this wise?..."

"I can handle him. Some of you may come along if you see fit," the red-haired boy told her impassively. He turned back to the Kazekage, "if you do not wish to be used as a tool, aid me in defeating you," with that, he turned and ran. Some of the anbu detached themselves from the main squad to follow him, and the reanimated Kazekage strode out after his son. Surprisingly, Kankuro and Temari went with him as well. It was probably due to the fact that all the other Suna nin had left, and the only person they knew was their little brother who had been strangely kind to them for the past few months.

Orochimaru frowned again. Having Gaara off his back was a good thing, but that left only two other Edo Tensei shinobi to hold off the rest of the Hokage's forces. His worry slowly dissipated when he remembered what the first two kages had been capable of. Even one would be enough. He turned back to his old sensei, only to find seven anbu headed for him with their tanto drawn.

"Suiton: Suishouha!"

Before they could reach him, they were stopped by a giant wall of water than crashed into them. Orochimaru did not have to lift a finger; Senju Tobirama had exited his coffin and stood in front of him with both hands at his mouth.

When the stream of water finished, the first squad of the first division of anbu was still standing, but soaked from head to toe and wincing at the power with which the water had lashed them. Sandaime looked at them worriedly. He knew better than anyone how powerful his sensei was, and he didn't think that even his anbu would be able to take him down successfully. After all, the anbu was a covert division. They weren't as skilled at open fights.

Suddenly, a flash of white stepped into his line of sight.

"Greetings, Nidaime-sama!" the toad sage exclaimed, holding one hand in front of him in the most ridiculous pose Sarutobi Hiruzen had ever seen his student make, "I am Jiraiya of the Legendary Sannin, sage of the toads of Mount Myobuku and –"

"Jiraiya!"

The toad sage turned to see Gamabunta leaping towards him. He had not been dismissed from his fight with Naruto yet.

"Bunta, how many times do I have to tell you not to interrupt me when I'm posing! I didn't even get to the best part!" Jiraiya yelled.

"Jiraiya this really isn't-"

"Don't worry, sensei!" the toad sage interrupted, turning to face the reanimated Nidaime, "you just focus on taking down that snake faced idiot." The humor fled from his face as he regarded his opponent, "I'll take care of him".

"Hiruzen," the deep voice of the Nidaime called, "I have been reanimated. The only way to defeat me is to seal me," luckily his orders didn't explicitly require him to attack again immediately.

"I am a master of fuuinjutsu!" Jiraiya called, "I will seal you."

Meanwhile, Kakashi had slipped between the anbu guarding Naruto along with Shizune, and took his student's arm.

"Division one," he commanded. The face was one they did not recognize, but the commanding streak in the voice was very recognizable. Suddenly, every anbu member realized exactly who Dog had once been.

"Squads two and three, provide backup for squad one and protect the Hokage. I will take Naruto. Go," he ordered. In the heat of the moment and the fact that their division leader was standing, soaked, with the rest of squad one, they did not hesitate to obey.

"Sandaime-sama, I and few others will take Naruto to safety and then distract Shodai-sama," Kakashi called, hiding Naruto behind him. The Sandaime nodded without turning, never taking his eyes off his former student. He ran to the coffin on the far right where the Shodai Hokage was just peering out. The reanimated man took one look around him and seemed to know exactly what had happened.

"Look what you've done!" He said harshly to the Nidaime, "it's that jutsu you were working on! I warned you that it wasn't a good idea, Tobirama!"

"I apologize, but there is nothing I can do now. Please leave this area, brother," Senju Tobirama pleaded, "they will not be able to handle both of us together."

"I know," the Shodai Hokage looked to one side to see Kakashi standing ready near the stairs to the audience stands and out of the building. The jonin didn't say anything. He simply put one hand down to his waist and flicked it inwards. He was certain that the Shodai, who had established the anbu, would know their universal sign for 'follow me'.

As the Shodai Hokage sped after him and out of the chunin exam centre, Kakashi dragged Naruto with him and Shizune ran after them. As long as they were running at this speed, he would not be able to make seals so easily. There was a certain weak point at the wall surrounding a quarter of the village that Kakashi had already planned to use, and he didn't think about stopping until they had left the village.

ooooo

Temari really tried to be brave as she stood beside her brothers, but it was hard. To her left was Gaara, whose very personification of bravery was impossible to reach, and to her right was Kankuro, who seemed to be shivering even as he held onto her arm.

As the oldest sibling, she had always been tasked with keeping a cool head. However, at the moment, while facing their father, she found that she was having a hard time keeping any sort of calm. Of course, the fact that there were anbu who had hid themselves expertly in the trees of the gardens outside the chunin exams hall was helpful. It was nice to know that one of them would attack and help them out if the situation got too serious. Although the nice, pretty green gardens they were currently located in where probably beyond saving. Gaara had probably only chosen to stop here because it was far from the residential areas of Konoha. How he knew Konoha's territory so well, she had no idea.

"Gaara. Temari. Kankuro," the Yondaime Kazekage acknowledged, "it is strange knowing that one is dead, and yet still being able to feel everything."

"Help us defeat you, father. We will make sure that Orochimaru dies and you are avenged," Gaara promised. Temari noted with a raised eyebrow that his voice was no longer as raspy as it had once been. As scary had it was to imagine Gaara going though puberty, she'd never thought it would change his voice so much. It was no longer raw and angry, but subdued and controlled. Even smooth.

"Step away, Gaara," their father sighed, "I cannot be killed like this. The only way to defeat me is to seal me."

"I will trap you in my sand until Naruto or Jiraiya-san arrives," the red-haired boy promised.

"In doing so you will unleash Shukaku and kill your siblings," the Yondaime Kazekage said calmly, "and they are needed in order to keep Suna from falling to ruin."

_But you are not, _Temari identified his unspoken words. She winced slightly and turned to see her youngest brother's reaction. During the last few months, Gaara had been slowly changing. She was almost completely unsurprised to see that he had maintained his calm through the insult.

"Shukaku no longer controls me," Gaara declared, "I have locked her up deep in my mind."

The reanimated Kazekage raised an eyebrow, "that cannot be possible. You are still controlling your sand," he gestured at the sand around Gaara's feet that was slowly beating into the grass to unearth more.

"This is not Shukaku's power," the red-haired boy said a little more loudly, "this is my own ability," he looked directly into his father's eyes and didn't break his gaze for a second.

For a long moment, father and son stared at each other. The Kazekage was about to dismiss his silly idea, but when he looked into the green eyes he realized that they were no longer glazed over with killing intent. Instead, his son's expression was sharp with intelligence. And with the intensity of the look, he had no choice but to conclude that his son had changed in some fundamental way. Gaara didn't _talk _to his victims. He killed them. He didn't _convince _anyone. He used them to validate his existence, and them kept drops of their blood safely in the sand in his gourd.

"Then…it's from her," he whispered quietly, looking up for a moment. Slowly, black rings began to appear around his eyes.

"Temari," Gaara instructed, "use Kamatari to try and prevent him from taking more Gold Dust. Kankuro, use your puppets to distract as much of the Dust as you can. I will attack with my sand."

"No, tell them to run, Gaara," the Yondaime asked, "If my entire family is wiped out, Suna will be in a state of confusion. None of you will be able to stop me. You are not ready, and you are still genin while I had almost made jonin near your age. I held high hopes…but it doesn't seem like any of them will show merit."

At that, Temari swung her fan off her shoulder, feeling the anger rise within her. There was a _reason _she was the favorite student of one of the strongest jonin in Suna. There was a _reason _she was the only genin in Suna that had a summoning contract. Beside her, Kankuro let go of his grip on her arm and dislodged his repaired puppets from his back. Gaara remained still, his arms crossed. After hearing those words, running was the last thing any of them planned to do. Now that they knew that their powerful – and newly sane – younger brother Gaara was completely on their side, the two other siblings felt almost invincible.

"Father," she called, opening her fan to display all three proud dots, "just watch us."

ooooo

"Err…Jiraiya-san," Kurenai asked hesitantly, "what is your plan?"

"Plan? What plan?" The toad sage questioned.

"Oh this is hopeless," Asuma muttered from behind him, "listen. You too go and try to make him show all his abilities. I'll think of something eventually."

"Why are you two even here?" Jiraiya asked, turning to see Asuma and Kurenai determinedly backing him up, "aren't you supposed to be protecting the Sandaime?"

"He's got an entire anbu division and all the special jonin protecting him," Asuma pointed out, cigarette dangling from his lips, "I think you're the one who needs the help, Jiraiya-san."

"Oh alright…" the toad sage muttered. Although 'Defeated Nidaime Hokage with two understudies' didn't sound as flashy as just 'Defeated Nidaime Hokage'.

"You know, you can just ask me," the voice came from in front of them. They all turned sharply to see that Tobirama was speaking to them, "my actions are not my own, but I am free to speak. I designed the jutsu in such a way that the more of a reanimation the user wants to control, the more chakra it takes. Controlling my voice probably takes too much chakra for that man to manage," he pointed crudely at Orochimaru, who was currently using his snakes to fend off the anbu members.

"Oh, that's helpful," Asuma commented, "then we can just as-"

Tobirama's eyes suddenly widened, "defend yourselves!"

"Suiton: Suiryuudan no Jutsu!"

His hands rushed through over twenty seals in a mere seven seconds, but those seconds were all Jiraiya needed to grab the two other jonin and surrounded all of them in his Needle Jizo.

Nearby, Bunta held up his tanto to protect himself as a small dragon made of water crashed down on top of them. Luckily, the toad was strong against water attacks, and remained standing. Jiraiya, however, barely managed to hold himself up against the pressure of the water. When the attack had finished, he unwrapped his Needle Jizo and peered out at the Nidaime Hokage.

Tobirama had an apologetic expression on his face, "I managed to make that a weak one. Just don't take me anywhere near water or I may be forced to use it at full power."

"Go it," Asuma muttered, "what else? How do we defeat you?"

"Well, don't try hiding from me. I'll know where you are," Tobirama continued, "I was the strongest sensory type of my time."

"Yes yes, stop boasting," Jiraiya muttered, "we already know you're a Hokage, just tell us how you go down."

"Well, you _do _have one thing to your advantage," the Nidaime began, "that man did not seem to be able to revive us at full power. You see, he was still using my incomplete jutsu, and in that, the user cannot revive anyone stronger than himself. If he attempts to do so, the revived shinobi are weakened greatly. I can only use half my original power at best, and that gives you a good chance."

"If you're weaker than snake-face, we'll do just fine," Jiraiya asserted.

"Yeah," Asuma added around his cigarette, "that should make it easier to take you down."

"Well…it makes it _possible, _at least," Senju Tobirama relented.

ooooo

Half an hour later, three tired Konoha nin were standing in the middle of a forest clearing. Naruto and Kakashi stood in front, and Shizune stayed back, prepared to jump in and provide medical attention if needed. However, she was sweating from head to toe.

"Kakashi…san," she gasped, "was that…five kilometer…sprint….really…necessary?" She generally regarded herself as a rather healthy person, but this was a little much.

"We had to get him away from the village," the other jonin explained. Small drops of sweat ran down his forehead and under his mask, "his jutsu are on very large scales."

"We'll take him down," Naruto promised. He was the only one who didn't seem to be exhausted from the run. His chakra reserves alone were enough to heal his fatigue.

The Shodai Hokage stood in front of them and assessed them. Even though he was simply standing with his arms crossed, he made an incredibly intimidating figure. Red, First-War-style armor covered his chest and shoulders, and long dark hair ran down his back, with a few strands falling into his face. He wore a proud Konoha hitai-ite around his forehead and under his hair. The black sclera of his eyes marked him as one of the reanimated. His expression was not angry or haughty, and he clearly regretted allowing his brother to continue with his research. Instead, he looked over them with slight sadness in his eyes.

"Who are you?" He asked, "I can feel that I am not at my full power, but taking me down will not be so easy."

"I am jonin Hatake Kakashi," Kakashi began, "she is Shizune, our field iryounin. And this is Uzumaki Naruto," he tactfully omitted Naruto's genin title.

"Uzumaki?" His eyebrows rose, "could you be a descendant of mine?"

"Maybe, I'm related to Uzumaki Kushina and Tsunade baa-chan" Naruto shrugged. He knew that Uzumaki Kushina was his mother, and that Tsunade baa-chan had been some relation of his, but he wasn't sure of his exact place in the family tree.

"He is the son of your wife's grand-niece," Kakashi explained.

"Ah," Senju Hashirama went on. He seemed slightly amused at how his beloved but spoiled granddaughter was being referred to, and gained a general understanding of what time period he was in, "however, unless he is a mokuton genius, no twelve year old will be able to help defeat me."

"I'm the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi," Naruto said loudly, "and I can control his chakra."

At this, Hashirama's eyes widened slightly, "there was no one alive who could control the Kyuubi, how is it that a child can do so?"

"Uchiha Madara has used one of the Rikudo Sennin's jutsu, and Kurama is angry and willing to help me become strong enough to defeat him," Naruto told him. The fact that the Shodai had not attacked them yet probably meant that Orochimaru was temporarily distracted, and the Edo Tensei was currently on its base orders. He wasn't being explicitly told to attack. Yet.

"Madara…" Shodai's eyes hardened, "so he's found the way to immortality after all, has he? That is truly horrible," his arms were crossed and his hands fisted into his sleeves. Dark brown hair hung into his face and he looked downwards, "you alone may not be able to defeat him. He once had the power to summon the Kyuubi."

"Some of the other Jinchuuriki are helping me," the blond boy told him, "and I've got some of Konoha's greatest jonin on my side."

"At least it is nice to know that my village has prospered, if it has shinobi who are able to assist in taking down someone like Madara," Hashirama sighed, "I can feel my control weakening a little. In a few minutes I will attack. I will hold off for as long as possible, but be prepared."

_Let's do this, Kurama, _Naruto instructed. Inside his cage, the fox nodded and began to slowly take over his container's chakra flow. Orange chakra mixed with blue and came back to spread through his body.

"Bijuu mode!" Naruto yelled, feeling the blanket of chakra cover him like a sheet. Slowly his body began to glow until he, like Kurama, became a creature almost completely made of chakra. Beside him, Kakashi stepped back, prepared to provide covert backup. Shizune gasped at his form, and then quickly retreated into the trees to wait for when her skills were needed.

Meters in front of them, Senju Hashirama nodded. Looking at Naruto, he could clearly see the chakra of the Kyuubi. His frown began to slowly dissipate as he reassessed their chances of taking him down.

"Alright," he began, "we only have a minute at most. Take me away from here."

"Where?" Kakashi questioned, "We're already far enough from the village. It won't be damaged."

For a moment, there was silence as Hatake Kakashi and Senju Hashirama looked at each other.

"You fools!" The Shodai suddenly thundered, "I was the greatest mokuton user in history, and you've brought me to the middle of a forest!"

**ooooo**

******The fact that the Shodai and Nidaime were _not _reanimated at full power is canon, Kabuto was the one who later perfected the jutsu.** Also, I really hope those of you watching the anime watch subs so that you understand the jutsu. If not, leave a review with a request and I'll include jutsu translations.

**And yes, the "Shiore/Orochimaru" that Naruto was fighting was a clone under henge. The real Orochimaru was in the Kage viewing balcony with the Hokage.**


	20. A Mother's Love & The Mokuton

**All of Gaara's past that is mentioned here is canon, along with all the jutsu used. It is currently this story's one month anniversary, yay!**

**Chapter 20 – A Mother's Love & The Mokuton Legacy**

"Err…well…you really can't blame us, Shodai-sama," Kakashi rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, "Hi no Kuni is the land of forests. It's filled with forests. That's why you named our village the one hidden in the leaves-"

"I remember there being a large valley slightly east of here!" Senju Hashirama yelled, "I faced Madara there! If we had only run thirty more kilometers-"

"We really don't have that kind of stamina-"

"Nice work, sensei," Naruto muttered, "all that planning and we're stuck facing him in his own territory."

"Naruto-kun," Shizune attempted to defend the other jonin, "it was just a little mistake-"

"There is no time for talking!" The Shodai yelled again, "defend yourselves!"

The three of them watched in horror as the Shodai Hokage brought both his hands up into the air, and _waves_ of wood followed.

ooooo

"Why the frown? Didn't ya get it down?"

Utakata sighed. He was sitting down on the floor of the forest, legs crossed. His blue kimono was folded on the ground next to him; he had learned the hard way that sometimes the excess chakra could burn through the soft cloth. His hands were clasped directly in front of the bamboo jug that held his soap solution.

"I was almost there. I'll try again," he said. Slowly, he delved back into his mind.

_Why did I get such a weak human, _Saiken began to lament, _I barely gave you half my chakra and you almost died. Again. _

_I apologize, _Utakata stated, mentally gritting his teeth and trying without success to keep his blood pressure down, _but body was not meant to handle that amount of chakra. Please, let us try once more. I cannot perform my jutsu to the same accuracy with your chakra, so this Bijuu Mode is my only chance of being useful. _

_That is definitely true, _Saiken relented, _let me out again, then. _

Utakata frowned deeply and began the familiar process of slowly allowing Saiken to take over his chakra control. The deep blue chakra spread through his body, but instead of simply remaining there, it leaked out, forming a cloak of chakra around his body.

He had long since learned that it would take years for someone with modest natural reserves like himself to master even a little of the Slug's raw power, and luckily Saiken had an alternative. Instead of fighting with jutsu, he would fight with pure chakra, the way the Sage had once done. This way, he did not need to learn any control, and Saiken would be able to fight alongside him.

"Oh yeah!" B suddenly stated, "you've got it!"

Utakata's eyes opened suddenly, and he realized that the world looked different. It was as if he was viewing it though glasses tinted blue, and then he realized that the bijuu's chakra was successfully outside of his body. Slowly, he smiled.

"Saiken can control this chakra as well," he explained, "so even though I'm not much of a fighter, it seems like I can still be of use in a battle."

"Good job," Gyuki's voice came from B's mouth. From travelling with him for almost a month, Utakata had long since learned how to distinguish the two even if they did not explicitly state their switch, "that should be enough. Like that, Saiken can perform his Bijuudama, and that alone is a strong technique. How is your energy?"

"I feel fine," Utakata told the octopus in B's body, "a little energized, actually."

"You've got it, kono yaro," B returned, "now we enter Konoha, baka yaro."

"Sure-"

Suddenly, both of them felt a tremor rush through their feet. B straightened and Utakata stood up and hurriedly slipped on his kimono over his brown pants.

"What was that?" He asked sharply, pulling a sleeve on and inserting the bubble blower into his orange sash.

"It came from near Konoha," B responded, looking in the direction of the village thoughtfully.

ooooo

"So if they kill Orochimaru, will you die as well?" Kurenai questioned the Nidaime. She had kunai in both hands and was watching Asuma's defense.

"No. I'm afraid I developed this jutsu as a permanent fix. The only way I can die is if the jutsu user himself undoes the seal," Tobirama said sadly, "you, fuuin person," he turned to Jiraiya, "what do you need to do in order to seal me?"

The toad sage reached into his pack and brought out a single scroll, "I just need to lay this on you and channel chakra into it."

"Good. Here's what you need to do," he pointed at Kurenai and Asuma, "you two, I do not know your abilities yet, which is a good thing. Find some way to distract my suiton jutsu. Fuuin person, come up and lay your seal one I am distracted. You will never be able to sneak up on me because I will always know where you are, but if my chakra is occupied somewhere else, it will give you an entry point."

"Well, that's not the way I planned to nobly defeat him," Jiraiya mumbled, "but we should take his advice."

"He's a suiton user, so futon jutsu should work against him," Asuma muttered around his cigarette. His hands came together and began to form the seals; Horse, Monkey, Bird.

"Fuuton: Fuujin no Jutsu!" he yelled, opening his mouth. Dozens of dust particles flew out in a strong gust of wind. Before they hit their target, a large wall of water rose up to stop it.

When the water began to die down, the Nidaime's eyes widened at a sudden shower of senbon needles, and swirling black hair filled his vision as a kunai came at his chest. He immediately sensed the presences of Jiraiya behind him, and sent out his wall of water again.

This time, the water went all around, pushing Kurenai and the toad sage away in opposite directions. The senbon flew haphazardly into the air, and when they came back down some of them lodged into his body. However, as a reanimation he could not feel the piercings. Asuma leapt to catch Kurenai and set her down, while Bunta positioned himself to block his summoner's fall.

Nidaime was nodding, "yes, futon jutsu are perfect. That didn't work, but you have the general idea. You'll have to do this quickly before I am forced to bring out any other, more powerful jutsu."

"Got it," Kurenai told him, wringing the water out of her sleeves. "Jiraiya-san!" She called. The toad sage quickly ran over to where she was standing with the other jonin.

"Listen," Asuma began, "I'm not much of a tactician, but I have an idea. He does not yet know that Kurenai is a genjutsu specialist. She can place a genjutsu that causes him to _see _my futon attack, and he will use his water to block it. Once his jutsu is up, I will use my chakra blades to find the weakest area of his suiton defense, and I will aim my _actual _futon jutsu there. Jiraiya-san, you can follow the path of the wind, and it will lead you directly to the middle, where you can place the seal."

Jiraiya frowned, but he grudgingly admitted that it was a good idea. Kurenai nodded, used to working with her lover in battle.

When they turned to face the Nidaime once again, his arms were crossed over his chest. "You," he looked towards Asuma, "your face is familiar."

"My name is Sarutobi Asuma," the jonin responded, "I am the son of the Sandaime Hokage, your student."

"I see…so I suppose he finally scraped up enough courage to court Biwako-chan," Tobirama said with a touch of humor, "well then, are you going to attack me? The longer the fight lasts, the more powerful the jutsu I will be forced to use. If I am able to use my Hiraishingiri, I fear for your lives. No matter what happens, do not allow me to draw my sword."

"He's right," Jiraiya muttered, "sensei spoke of him often. He is one of the greatest kenjutsu users in history."

"Then it's time to see if your plan works, Asuma," Kurenai stated, putting her kunai away, "I will begin now."

Her hands began to slowly, almost lazily, form seals. Unseen tendrils of chakra reached towards Senju Tobirama. A genjutsu that messed with the victims sight was easy, but this one had to do more. He had to feel the swirling of the winds, see everyone's clothes fluttering in the breeze, and smell the thick scent of dust. Luckily she was familiar with Asuma's futon jutsu, having seen it in battle many times, and knew how to make it appear.

Jiraiya and Asuma watched as Tobirama's hands suddenly flew together into a seal, even though there was nothing to combat. Kurenai's genjutsu must have worked. However, it wouldn't remain in effect for long; along with being an excellent sensor, Senju Tobirama was also a formidable genjutsu user in his own right.

"Damn Senju get all the luck," Jiraiya muttered, waiting for his cue, "they've got vast chakra reserves, _and _vast chakra control." He thought of Tsunade's taijutsu.

"It's something that they're known for," Asuma agreed.

They both watched as he finished the series of seals, and the giant wall of water appeared once again. Almost immediately, Asuma's fingers slipped into the chakra blades on his waist, and he flicked them outwards, allowing threads of his chakra to fly with them. The chakra blades pierced through the wall of water, and followed the path around, slicing though the wall as they went. Asuma's eyes were narrowed in concentration, and then he finally stood up straight.

"Jiraiya-san!"

"Got it."

"Futon: Fuujin no Jutsu!" he yelled. The stream of wind came again, and the toad sage ran after it, following as it struck the wall of water. He leaned forwards and used his own strength to push as well, and the wall relented, the wind chakra piercing though it.

Once the wall was disrupted, Jiraiya rushed in, unraveling the scroll as he went. He held it in one hand as he held the other in a fist, prepared to meet any attack.

Tobirama's attention had been on Kurenai, and then on the chakra blades, so his back was turned when the toad sannin entered his defense. In the blink of an eye his right hand reached for his sword as his left arm turned around to stand poised in defense.

He swung the blade outwards, but when he turned around his vision was disrupted by a flash of white. The toad sannin reached out with his fisted hand and grabbed the hand Tobirama was using to clutch his sword. The blade stopped in its swing, and his other hand came rushing forwards.

Mere seconds after the wall had been pierced, Jiraiya threw himself onto the Nidaime and slammed his paper seal on the man's armored chest. Unfortunately, Tobirama's hand moved on its own accord. The toad sannin began to channel chakra into the seal. He saw the sword coming towards him out of the corner of his eye, but decided that if he retreated now, they would be attacked again with jutsu that would be much harder to fight. Plus, he had just drawn his sword. If he didn't take this chance to finish the battle, they would lose for sure. He winced as the Nidaime's blade sunk into the side of his right bicep, but continued to pour chakra in the paper.

Around them, the wall of water began to fall apart, and Kurenai and Asuma rushed in to see if the plan had worked. The first thing they saw was Jiraiya's arm, stained with blood, but they looked down to see that the paper seal was finally wrapped around the Nidaime Hokage's chest.

"Fuuin!" Jiraiya yelled. He looked down at the impressed Tobirama with a wide grin, "my name is Jiraiya of the Sannin! Remember it!"

When he stood up, the paper continued to wrap around his chest, and then slowly expanded over his body. From where he lay on the ground, Tobirama moved his head to see the other two.

"Jiraiya, Sarutobi Asuma…and?"

"Yuuhi Kurenai," the kunoichi supplied, "I was the one who set that first genjutsu."

"Ah yes. I realized that it was a genjutsu. Luckily, my body reacted from the Edo Tensei before my brain was able to instruct it, so I was caught in it," the Nidaime sighed, "is it good that he does not have mastery over my jutsu. Will this paper seal me permanently?"

"It should," the toad sannin confirmed, "I got the information about the Edo Tensei scrolls from Gaara-san, who described them well enough that I could research and design a proper seal to counteract them."

"Good. Now…go help…Hiruzen. This jutsu…should not be…used…again," he managed as the paper wrapped itself around his face, "I'm..sorry for…all the…trouble…I caused."

The three Konoha jonin stood back and regarded the figure wrapped fully in white seal-paper.

"Well, that's something interesting to add to my shinobi description," Kurenai commented, "helped defeat Nidaime Hokage."

"I was hoping _mine_ would say 'Defeated Nidaime Hokage'" Jiraiya muttered. But he smiled tiredly, "I suppose this will do. Now, does anyone know where I can find an iryounin before I pass out?"

Kurenai took one look at his arm, now soaked completely in blood and emitting a cloyingly metallic stench, and tried not to pass out herself.

ooooo

Long, invisible strings of chakra danced as Kankuro sent his puppets mercilessly towards the waves of Gold Dust. Inside, his stomach was twanging with the thoughts of all the repair work he would have to do after all his precious puppets were crushed like leaves under a stampede. However, he was on distraction-duty, and he had to follow the plan closely if they stood a chance against the Kazekage.

His eyes widened when a wave of darker sand engulfed the wooden puppets. It wasn't golden, which meant that it belonged to Gaara. But why would Gaara attack his puppets? Was he not sane after all?

The answer came to him when the sand cleared, and Kankuro mentally hit himself for having doubted his younger brother. A layer of sand covered the wooden puppets, as strong as the layer that protected Gaara's skin. Now they could face the Gold Dust without risking being shattered upon the first impact. He looked sideways and gave his younger brother a bright grin.

"Thanks, Gaara," he said happily.

The red-haired boy nodded, "continue to distract the eastern wave. Temari, prepare Kamatari. Ask him to attack when I create an opening with my sand."

"Understood," the Suna girl swung her fan to one side and bit her thumb and kept it near her fan, prepared to activate her summons's slashing dance at a second's notice.

Gaara raised both arms and commanded the sand in front of him. By bashing itself against the ground and drawing up more of itself, his reserves of sand were now over twenty times the amount originally in his gourd.

As it rushed forwards, the Gold Dust swept outwards, coming to meet it. The sand crashed into it, creating a towering wall in between the two Kazekage. Kankuro withdrew his puppets and went to stand beside Gaara, watching the wall worriedly.

The three genin looked up to see that their father was riding the Dust, standing on top as his heavier golden particles over-powered Gaara's lighter sand.

"You cannot defeat me so easily," the Yondaime Kazekage yelled out, "you were once an experiment, but I'd long since decided that you failed. I leant that the day Yashamaru died."

"I did not fail!" The red-haired boy spoke loudly, "why did Yashamaru have to die? Why did you ask him to kill me?" It was something he had always wanted to know. Something that had been on the edge of his mind for years. All the people who would have known the answer had died before he had the chance to ask.

"He was sent to test you. And that was the day I realized that Shukaku had taken over your being. You truly were 'Gaara', the Demon who loved only himself," the Yondaime said. For some reason, although his words were harsh, he was giving his youngest son a contemplating look.

Gaara, on the other hand, quelled the anger within him. His siblings were watching him worriedly, and he could not fail them by allowing emotions to get in the way. He raised more of his sand to attack the wave of Gold Dust.

"I am no longer Shukaku," he growled, pouring chakra out through his body and into his feet. To emphasize his statement, gallons of it sprung up from the ground. He was no longer using his sand to beat the ground to create more; instead he was dragging it out from the ground. It required vast amounts of chakra, but with it he was able to triple his already large reserves of sand.

Yondaime, on the other hand, had a limited amount of Gold Dust to use. There was only so much one could find under the ground of Konoha, and to drag up more would require too much chakra. Gaara concentrated the majority of the sand along a line in the middle of the wall, prepared to push it in. With a burst of chakra, he sent the concentrated sand pushing forwards into the wall of Gold Dust.

At first, it seemed like the sand would only sink in and be absorbed by the Gold, but as he added more and more, the Yondaime's wall finally gave way and collapsed. Yondaime, who was standing on top, momentarily lost his balance.

"Temari! Now!" He yelled.

"Kuchoise: Kirikiri Mai!" His sister yelled, swiping her bloodied finger across the fan to offer it to the one-eyed weasel. In the blink of an eye, Kamatari was leaping towards the falling Kazekage.

Their father's eyes widened as the slashing winds enveloped him. He looked down at the shimmer below his feet and considered. It was possible to easily bring up the Gold Dust to protect himself, but for some reason the Edo Tensei was not explicitly instructing him to do so. He was able to simply stand there and allow the winds to slash him into pieces. As the wall of Gold fell, he fell with it in pieces.

"Kankuro!" Gaara instructed next, "go!"

His other brother did not hesitate. He didn't know exactly when his younger sibling had gotten such a commanding voice, but it was the type of tone that you could not help but obey. He pulled his chakra strings and watched as Crow went whizzing towards the pieces of their father's body.

The wooden puppet took the first thing it saw; an arm. Once it enveloped the arm, it made for the next piece nearby, a leg. However, the leg dissipated as it went towards it. Kankuro realized what was happening and decided to retreat. Crow used some of its various arms to create a complete wooden case around the Yondaime's arm so that it would not be able to do the same.

They watched as the slashed pieces of his body slowly fell into smaller slips, and then rose up, reforming his full figure minus one arm.

Kankuro drew his puppet back, looking curiously at the solid wooden case that he had needed in order to trap the appendage.

"So that is what he can do…" Gaara muttered. He looked up, "you didn't block that attack because you knew you would be put back together," he accused.

The Yondaime Kazekage smiled a wry smile, "I am not _trying _to fight, children. I am only doing what the Edo Tensei tells me I _must _do. It did not move my arms to block, so I did not do so."

"How can we stop you?" Temari asked loudly, "give us advice!"

"I do not know, Temari," he seemed to be serious, "I haven't exactly fought myself before. The snake managed to slit my throat secretly. It was a shameful murder."

Kamatari appeared beside her and she gritted her teeth, looking sideways at Gaara.

"We will take him piece by piece," the red-haired boy finally decided, "Kankuro, I will take the wooden case in my sand. Prepare Crow to retrieve another part. Once he looses the majority of his body, he will no longer be able to channel chakra properly. Also, it seems that his orders are not aware of what we are doing, so if Father is truly not trying to fight us, then he will leave himself open."

"Got it," Kankuro agreed. He carefully allowed Crow to release the wooden case into his younger brother's sand.

Their father watched the exchange curiously, "so it is true, then. If the sand is not from Shukaku, then it is from her."

"You mentioned a 'her' before," Temari asked, "who do you mean?"

"Your mother," the Kazekage said simply.

All three siblings' eyes widened.

Temari was old enough to have vague memories. A kind woman with soft eyes, a round, gentle face, and a gentler voice. She had been almost two years old when her mother had died. Kankuro remembered very little; only the memories of a mother's kind touch. He had been one. Gaara had not reached his second minute alive before their mother had died holding him in her arms.

"A…bloodline limit from her?" Gaara asked, confused. The Yondaime stood a few meters in front of them, Gold Dust piled around him.

"No. Simply a mother's love," was his father's only reply.

There were a few minutes of silence as the three Suna siblings stood still and pondered it. Temari and Kankuro had always been told that their mother had loved them and doted on them, but Gaara had stopped hearing those words after Yashamaru's death.

"Karura was not a shinobi, but I was drawn to her," the Yondaime Kazekage went on, "she was the very embodiment of Suna, of the land and all the people in it," he looked aside, and Gaara did not miss that as he spoke, his Gold Dust beat itself into the ground, trying to draw up more, "when it was decided that you would become the Jinchuuriki of the Ichibi, she was…she never spoke about it, but I could tell that she was sad."

"But she was sacrificed for me," Gaara frowned, "she hated me."

"No. That was a lie that Yashamaru was instructed to tell you. I know better than anyone that she loved you, because you were the last thing she focused on before she died. She named you 'Gaara' because she wanted you to live. When you came out premature, she was determined beyond belief to protect you," he looked aside and sighed.

Without hesitance, the Gold rushed at the three of them. Temari and Kankuro rushed towards Gaara, but the red-haired boy simply stood there, shocked. His name had always been a curse, but now…

He barely noticed when the Gold Dust came within a meter of him, and was oblivious when Temari spread her fan to shield him and Kankuro pulled Crow in front. However, he did notice when the sand rushed up in front of all three of them, stopping the Gold in its tracks. He noticed that none of his chakra was actually embedded inside of it.

His siblings relaxed when they saw the sand come up to shield them. The Gold Dust retreated, and the sand slid down with it, covering it.

"She told me that you were small and weak and needed to be protected when you were thrown in front of the challenges that your idiotic father would come up with," The Yondaime smiled sadly, "and she was right. But at the time, I saw Shukaku as part of you. I'm sorry, Gaara. I may have failed as a father, but I'm happy that my son is not a demon."

At this, Gaara looked up, and his resolve hardened.

"Kankuro, prepare Crow," he instructed, "do not worry about defense."

Kankuro nodded and Temari smiled, and stood ready to attack.

The sand rushed towards the Gold Dust and crashed into it once again, creating the wall. This time, Gaara ran forward to meet his father at the top, easily stepping into the rushing particles. His brother and sister followed on either side of him, and Kamatari backed them up. The Yondaime was already standing on top when they appeared.

"Strike quickly, children," their Kazekage instructed, "I now know that you have nothing to fear. To see my Karura again..."

He spread out his remaining arm and allowed Kamatari to slice it off and Crow to capture it while Gaara's sand protected them from the attacking Gold Dust. He looked upwards and permitted his Dust to do whatever the Edo Tensei instructed it to, because he was lost in thoughts of a certain woman on a certain day.

"_What a small, feeble child…no matter what happens, I'll always protect you, Gaara!"_

ooooo

Over five kilometers away, Shizune and Kakashi stayed closely beside each other, crouched on the ground as orange chakra shielded them from the explosion of wood around them. Shizune was holding on tightly to the older jonin's sleeve, feeling completely out of her league. Though he didn't show it, Kakashi was beginning to feel the same way.

Naruto stood in front of them, using the Kyuubi's chakra as his hands. He carefully opened his eyes from where they had been squeezed shut to see that they were trapped in a dome of wood.

"Its…getting smaller," Shizune commented.

It was. The dome was slowly decreasing, threatening to envelope them.

"I know someone who uses this jutsu," Kakashi suddenly spoke up, "there is a weak point, and earth is weak against lightning." He stood up and gently pried his sleeve from Shizune's grip, sending chakra into his hand.

"Raiton: Raikiri!" He said harshly, feeling the light blue chakra shape itself into the familiar shifting ball of lightning. He suddenly crouched down low, and then leapt up to slam the Raikiri into the very top of the dome.

The wood above them put up a fight, but eventually it gave way, cracking open. With that, Naruto was able to easily send up Kyuubi's chakra to smash itself into the opening, and lifted Shizune and Kakashi out of the dome. When both jonin were safely outside, he pushed himself out with the arm of pure chakra, and his sensei pulled him up.

"The wood is strongest when it is close to the ground," the masked jonin explained, "I leant that from sparring with Tenzou. When you attack, always aim high."

"That's good advice, sensei," Naruto commented, "but how on earth am I supposed to attack _that_?"

The three of them looked around to see that all around them was _wood_. The bark and branches of every tree for half a kilometer's radius was smoothed over and heightened until it towered over them, threatening to crash down and envelop them. It was like looking up at blades of grass from the viewpoint of an ant crawling along the dirt. Beneath it all, two jonin and one genin felt incredibly small.

"We need to get on high ground," Kakashi instructed, "the lower we are, the stronger his attacks will be."

"You seem to know quite a lot about my bloodline limit," a voice commented from above.

Immediately, Kakashi grabbed Shizune and Naruto's arms and leapt up along one spike of wood, desperately trying to reach the top. The two others ran as fast as they could along with him, even as tendrils of wood reached out to try and snap around their feet.

Luckily, they were able to reach the top of one giant spoke without being pulled back down, and stood breathless on its flat surface.

Senju Hashirama was watching them worriedly from the top of another spoke a few meters away. His arms were crossed over the breastplate of his armor, and his forehead was creased.

"I know someone who uses the Mokuton," Kakashi yelled out, still panting slightly, "he is nowhere near your level, but I have sparred with him before in the anbu."

"So there is still a descendant of mine who carries my bloodline limit?" Hashirama's eyebrows rose, "after seeing that none of my children had inherited it, I thought it would be gone forever."

"He is not a descent of yours," Kakashi explained, "your cells have been forcefully inserted into him as part of an experiment. Luckily he came out alive, and successfully able to use your jutsu."

"That is interesting indeed. I suppose it would be too much to ask you to advise him to reproduce? Preferably more than once? Madara seems to have had no problems in spreading his abilities, but it would be a shame if the mokuton died out," the Shodai said lightly.

"I'm not sure how he'd respond to that," Kakashi told him truthfully. In reality, he was grateful that the attacks had come to a temporary halt. He turned to Naruto and Shizune and spoke more softly.

"Listen, I have a plan," he looked around at Naruto and Shizune's questioning eyes, "it involves me doing something that might temporarily damage my body, so I will require immediate medical attention," he explained, "Shizune, I need you to stay by me and slowly channel small amounts of your Shousen into me, but always stand _behind _me and _never _step into my line of sight."

"Understood," Shizune nodded.

"Good," he turned to Naruto, "his wood is his strongest defense, and if he does not have that, then you will be able to take him out with Kyuubi's chakra. I can do something to get rid of most of the wood, but it will take time to prepare. I haven't used this before."

"How much time, sensei?" the blond boy asked while Shizune kept an eye on Hashirama. Naruto already knew of his sensei's Mangekyou. He had used it in the future during their fight with Deidara.

"Five minutes should be enough," he explained, "keep him occupied until then. Talk to him. Do not attack unless he is made to attack."

"I will alert you when I am about to attack, if I can," the Shodai called out helpfully.

Shizune stood behind Kakashi and put one hand on the older jonin's shoulder, slowly activating her Shousen until the hand glowed green. The masked jonin pushed up his hitai-ite and slowly locked his fingers in a seal in front of his Sharingan eye.

"Shodai-jiji," Naruto called out, "when are you going to attack next?"

"I do not know, but you should be fine for a few minutes," Hashirama replied, "I have used a great amount of chakra to try and catch you while you were coming up here, so the Edo Tensei is satisfied for now," his eyes then narrowed, "and I would like you to know that I died at the age of forty-nine, and that hardly permits you to call me 'jiji', _boy_." It was true that his features were still rather young, although old for a shinobi.

"Well, Shodai-ji…sama," Naruto gulped at the strict expression on his face, "how do we defeat you?"

"Hmm…you do seem to have a bijuu on your side. If you only had a Sharingan, I could tell you how Madara fought me," he offered.

"Oh! Kakashi-sensei has a Sharingan!" Naruto said excitedly, "what does he need to do?"

At this, Hashirama's eyebrows rose again, "and yet he does not look like an Uchiha…you all are surprising indeed. Madara fought with his Susano'o," he explained, "the giant creature of chakra was able to land quite a few hits before I stopped it with my Myoujinmon."

"Myoujinmon?" Naruto questioned, "what's that?"

"Something that I'm hoping you I won't be forced to use," the Shodai said with a hard touch to his voice, "I'm sure that even the Kyuubi will have trouble with it."

"I have never used Susano'o, although I've heard of it," came Kakashi's voice. His eyes were still closed in concentration, but he heard the conversation, "I'm not sure if my chakra reserves are currently large enough to call upon it. This is my first time attempting the Mangekyou, and I only plan to use Amaterasu to take down the wood, Shodai-sama."

"Ah yes, the black flames," the Shodai nodded, "It is true that they are mostly effective. Keep in mind, however, that they will not work on my Edo Tensei body. It will rebuild itself as it is burned."

"Got it," Naruto nodded, "anything else?"

"Seal me quickly," the Shodai said, suddenly a little more worried, "I may only have a quarter of my powers, but unlike my brother, there are ways that I can use to make myself stronger if you give me too much time. I will probably never reach my full capacity, but even if I get to three quarters of my former power, you might have to do something drastic, such as sacrificing yourself to send me to the Death God. The longer this battle lasts, the more difficult it will be to defeat me."

"I'm familiar with the seal," Kakashi muttered from behind him, "it's our last resort."

"I'm going to attack from beneath you!" Hashirama called.

Naruto rushed to grab both Shizune and Kakashi with the tendrils of the Kyuubi's chakra, careful not to burn them as he leapt to the top of another spoke. Large rods of wood rose on the flat area they had previously been standing on.

"Ok," Kakashi finally said, "I'm ready," he opened his Sharingan eye to reveal a familiar spiked black pattern around his pupil, "Naruto, attack now!"

The blond boy nodded and summoned a rush of the Kyuubi's chakra above his head, tails of orange raised as they slowly formed a small, black ball.

Opposite from them, the Shodai Hokage raised his arms and long spikes of wood began to come up from the earth. Half of them went to surround him in a defensive shield, while the other half charged towards the three Konoha nin.

"Amaterasu!"

Suddenly the wood charging for them began to drop, consumed in black fire. The wood behind it began to follow quickly, and Hashirama's wooden defense began to drop out of the way as the black flames ate it up. As it fell out of the way, Naruto placed his hands on the ground and allowed the tails to raise high above him.

"Fuuton: Rasenshuriken!" he yelled, feeling the ball of black chakra charge forwards. It shot through the air of the few meters between them and headed directly for Hashirama's body.

When it hit, there was a large blast and the resulting wave shot back at them. Naruto used the chakra of the Kyuubi to shield the two jonin from the aftershock.

"Did…you get him?" Shizune questioned, hand still on the other jonin's shoulder. Kakashi's Mangekyou Sharingan eye was temporarily closed as he waited for his chakra to recover.

"I'm not sure," Naruto bit his lip, "I was hoping that the pieces that he falls into will be spread out enough for me to lay the seal before he gets back together…but I can't see him," he squinted along the remains of the charred wood covered in black fire.

"Uzumaki! Watch out!"

The voice came from behind them, and Naruto immediately dropped to the ground and shielded the three of them with Kyuubi's tails.

"That won't be enough to stop it! Mokuton: Mokuryuu no Jutsu!"

ooooo

When they heard a loud crash, Naruto winced underneath the tails of chakra, sure that it would get through. However, he wasn't feeling any pressure.

'W-what is that?" came Shizune's soft voice from right next to his ear. He slowly eased up the tails so that they could turn around and see what had happened with the Shodai's jutsu.

Above them was a translucent shield of bright red chakra. Beyond that was what looked like a giant wooden dragon, large enough to dwarf the tiny shield that Naruto and Kyuubi and hurriedly put up. Its nose was pressed against the barrier of red chakra, and small cracks were appearing in the wood. It only took a second for him to trace the bright red chakra that had saved them to its source.

"B no ossan!" Naruto yelled happily, regarding the dark and muscular form that was standing a few meters to the right. The red chakra extended from him, forming tails that had held back the wooden dragon.

"Yo!" B greeted, "you're in a pinch, eh?" His build was almost thick enough to completely shield the other man behind him from view.

"And Utakata-san!" He acknowledged, looking at the brown haired man who stepped up from behind his combat partner and gave him a small smile.

"B? Utakata? So these are the other Jinchuuriki?" Kakashi questioned, standing up from where Kyuubi's tails had pushed him to the ground.

"Yeah!" B pointed to himself, "We're Killer B and Gyuki!"

"Utakata of Kiri, Jinchuuriki of the Rokubi Saiken" the other man said simply. He leapt off the other wooden spoke they were standing on and followed the Kumo nin to Naruto's position. "B-san is able to transform completely, and I can use bijuu mode to some extent," he immediately reported, "who is our opponent?"

"Senju Hashirama," the Shodai's voice called, "Shodai Hokage, reanimated. I will inform you when I am instructed to attack next". As the wooden dragon fell to pieces, it revealed him to be standing on another spoke nearby. He seemed to recognize the chakra of the Hachibi, and slowly the worry was flowing off his face. Even at half his original power, _three _bijuu were beyond him.

"Alright," Kakashi spoke up, "I have a plan. All of you, listen," he waited until all three Jinchuuriki were in front of him, waiting for their orders, "we need to find a way to create an opening for Naruto to go in and place his seal. I can deal with his wood, but only for short spans of thirty seconds at most. If B-san is able to transform completely, then we can use the sheer size of the Hachibi to our advantage."

"We're listening," Utakata confirmed. He gently took out his bamboo soap solution container and blower, setting them aside so they would not break while he fought.

"First, B-san will go in with his fully transformed state, and I will back him up by sending in my Amaterasu to keep the wood away," the jonin began, "that will distract his jutsu. Then, Utakata-san will create an opening by repeatedly firing his Bijuudama. Naruto will take that opening to break into his defense and lay his seal. Shizune, keep the Shousen going. This taking a toll on my reserves and I don't want to risk exhaustion in the middle of the attack," he finished.

"Yes, Kakashi-san," Shizune agreed.

"Understood," Utakata nodded.

"Got it," B added, "me an Gyuki'll take him, kono yaro," with that, he leapt off the spoke, slowly emanating red chakra as he went.

"Be quick!" Hashirama advised, "the Edo Tensei commands are growing stronger. I think that man is getting more desperate to capture Uzumaki-kun."

"I'm coming, baka yaro!"

With that, red chakra filled the air. Whipping tails sprung from his back as B allowed Gyuki to take over completely and transform into the true Eight Tailed Octopus. Kakashi and Shizune had to brace themselves against the explosion of chakra, but somehow remained standing.

In this Hachibi transformation, B rushed towards the Shodai, who brought both arms up and allowed the chakra to flow though his arms and manifest in his bloodline limit.

"Mokuton: Hotei no jutsu!"

Gigantic hands of wood began to spring from the earth, utilizing the already existing trees to add to their bulk. Hashirama was thanking his lucky stars that he was not at full power, or else each wooden arm would have easily dwarfed even a bijuu. At the level he was now, there were much smaller, and it would take many of them to capture the Hachibi.

The giant octopus nimbly dodged most of the wooden appendages that sprang from the ground, and the ones he was not fast enough for were suddenly set on black fire. From his spoke, Kakashi had one hand over his Mangekyou Sharingan. He aimed with his normal eye, and when his target was within sight he quickly allowed his Sharingan to open and consume it in fire.

During the first ten seconds that the Amaterasu could be in use, Utakata was slowly slipping into his bijuu mode. Finally, Saiken was able to leak his chakra out to form his signature six blue tails. As soon as he was ready, Utakata jumped off the spoke to target Hashirama's back while his eyes were fixed on B in his transformed state.

Naruto followed the taller man in his own bijuu mode. One hand reached into the pocket of his orange jumpsuit and brought out one of the paper seals that he and Jiraiya had spent the last few days working on, using Gaara's memories to personalize them to the Edo Tensei. He held the seal in his real hand while the chakra hands that Kurama supplied helped him leap from spoke to wooden spoke. The giant structures had relatively flat endings, which made it easier to remain high up instead of falling back to the ground where the wood was much stronger.

As more and more of the wood below them was set on fire and the giant octopus battled the mokuton jutsu, Naruto and Utakata slipped silently into the spaces between the wooden attacks, trying not to draw attention to themselves. Occasionally he looked over to where B and Kakashi were providing a distraction, but he really wasn't worried about either of them. His sensei made up for any lack of stamina with his technical brilliance, and B's sheer raw power was hard to rival, even for the Shodai Hokage. Naruto knew that it would take years for him to master a full transformation with Kurama the way B and Gyuki had managed.

Finally, they got within meters of the Shodai's body. Wood rose all around them in an attempt to defend its master, but Utakata went along with the plan and dealt with it.

"Bijuudama!" he yelled, feeling Saiken's power gather above him. Each blow was enough to carve the wood inwards for a meter or so, and he didn't stop his barrage of attacks. Behind him, Naruto used Kurama's chakra arms and tails to keep the gaps in the wood separated as he followed closely.

Before they could get to the spoke he was standing on, a loud cry disturbed the air.

"Hachibi-san! Watch out!" Hashirama called in a loud, commanding voice, "Senpou: Myoujinmon!"

A few meters away, Kakashi watched in horror as the air above the giant octopus shifted. With a large groan, giant red Tori gates began to fall from the sky. Gyuki and B screamed loudly as the red gates fell upon their form, trapping down six tails along with Gyuki's neck. Each red gate came down with a crash that threatened to shatter their eardrums, and the Hachibi was caught helplessly within it. He barely managed to use his two free tails to defend against another wood attack as it came at his head.

Kakashi struggled to keep his Mangekyou Sharingan activated with Amaterasu past the thirty second mark, and sent out black flames to prevent spokes of wood from piercing though Hachibi's head. Behind him, Shizune was about to pass out from chakra loss, but kept her Shousen flowing into him.

Naruto almost paused in his shock, but Utakata's hand was suddenly on the front of his shirt, pulling him forwards with a momentum that he didn't know his lean arms possessed.

"He's distracted!" Utakata yelled, swinging the boy off his feet and into the air.

Naruto flew across the remaining spike of wood between them and towards the Shodai Hokage. Wood rose up in front of him and he was seconds from crashing into it.

"Futon: Rasenshuriken!" he yelled, gathering the spinning blue chakra in one hand. He used it to crash through the layer of wood, and with a mighty creak it finally gave way, exposing the Shodai's body below. His hands were locked together in the seal, and his eyes shone with inhuman pupils as he maintained his sage mode to take down the Hachibi. With it, he finally reached the maximum state possible in his Edo Tensei reanimation.

Within seconds, Naruto was well within his defense, rasenshuriken dissipating in one hand and paper seal in the other. With a yell, he landed from his throw directly onto Senju Hashirama's back and slammed the seal onto the red armor, sending chakra flowing into it to activate it.

_Not too much, _he heard Jiraiya's voice in his head, _too much will destroy it. You have to put it a lot to activate something like this, but also just enough. _

He managed to stop the chakra flow at the last second, withdrawing his hand as the seal began to wrap itself around the Shodai's back.

Within a second, the Tori gates of the Myoujimon began to dissipate, allowing B and Gyuki to heave a great sigh and reverse their transformation back into human form. On his wooden spoke, Kakashi allowed his shoulders to finally fall, relieved, and pulled his hitai-ite back over his Sharingan to allow his eye to heal. He fell to his knees and tried desperately to not faint from chakra loss.

Utakata appeared behind Naruto, out of his bijuu mode.

"Is that it? Is he sealed?" he asked.

"Yeah, he should be completely sealed," the blond boy replied, allowing Kurama's chakra to retreat back inside him. He looked down to see the Shodai Hokage smile kindly at him.

"Thank you…Uzumaki Naruto," and with that, the rest of his face was covered by seal paper.

A few meters away, Kakashi was worriedly trying but failing to stand up, "B-san!" he said harshly, looking at a small pool of blood forming meters below them.

Naruto and Utakata rushed over to where he and Shizune were sitting, and looked as the iryounin pointed towards the still form. Eye's widening, Naruto swung one of Shizune's arms over his shoulder and carried her as he leapt to where B was on the ground, wooden spikes still towering over him. The rokubi's Jinchuuriki followed them with a worried expression.

"B-san!" Utakata yelled, shaking his partner's shoulder, "are you awake?"

"Of…course, baka yaro," the Kumo nin was lying facedown, but he managed to turn his head to grin at them.

Shizune scraped together every last bit of chakra she had and quickly diagnosed the man lying in front of her. The back of his neck, bands across his back, and backs of his calves were all cut and bleeding from where the Tori gates had cut into his transformed state. She leaned forwards and began with the back of his neck, green chakra lighting up her hands with the last of her Shousen.

Naruto and Utakata watched silently, and Kakashi finally managed to stand up and make it over to where they all were.

"So that was the Myoujinmon that was able to take down Uchiha Madara's Susano'o," the masked jonin commented, eyeing the bloodied cuts.

"He'll be fine," Naruto insisted, "B no ossan is _really _strong. But we shouldn't have let Shodai-jiji go into Sage Mode."

"Clearly," Utakata commented, "but I believe he will be alright. He and the octopus were able to help me contact Saiken. When he first approached me, I didn't realize that I was a Jinchuuriki," he turned to Naruto, "thank you for sending him after me, Naruto. A few more weeks and I would have died from chakra loss."

"No problem, Utakata-san!" The boy replied.

"Don't worry…about me," came B's voice from the ground, "how is…he?"

"Sealed," Naruto replied, "I got him. Utakata-san helped me by throwing me at him."

"Good job…kono yaro," B praised his partner as Shizune moved on the final cut on his leg.

"Its…almost…done," the iryounin struggled, kneeling beside her patient. Never before had she been required to use so much of her chakra. First she had sent her Shousen into Kakashi for almost five minutes straight, and now she had healed large gashes that would have probably either become infected or caused B to lose large amounts of blood. Sweaty black hair fell into her face and drops of sweat dripped into the mesh shirt under her kimono, "just…the tendon…loss…blood…" and with that she collapsed into a deep sleep right over her patient's legs.

ooooo

In the hospital of Konoha, tension filled the air. Maito Gai and his student stood before Sasuke's sleeping form, facing the masked figure in a black cloak that was sitting on the windowsill.

"Who are you?" Gai asked the figure sharply. He was ready in his taijutsu pose, and Neji stood by him, helping him protect his Rival's student.

"My name is Tobi!" The figure stated, saluting over his orange spiral mask, "it's nice to meet you, Green Beast-san, Hyuga-kun!"

"So this is your true form. Why did you attempt to take Uchiha Sasuke?" Gai questioned again. He recognized the name of the small Kusa boy who had harmed Sasuke during the finals.

"Tobi's senpai instructed him to, so Tobi is just following orders. Would Green Beast-san like to donate to Tobi's cause? Uchiha-kun would be perfect," the Akatsuki member gushed.

"We'll never allow you to take him," Gai stated firmly. Beside him, Neji ignored the pain in his chest and stood in his jyuuken stance, prepared to help his sensei defend the sleeping genin in any way possible. Nearby, Tenten was still unable to get up from her bed, but she held a kunai in hand, ready to throw.

Suddenly, the masked figure tilted his head to one side, deep in thought. A few long seconds passed by in absolute silence.

"It seems," he began in a voice that was suddenly deeper, "that he has failed his task. As such, I will not bother to complete his," the figure suddenly straightened his head, "so Tobi will be going now, Green Beast-san, Hyuga-kun! Take good care of Uchiha-kun!"

And he disappeared.

ooooo

Back in the chunin exam centre, Orochimaru of the sannin was biting his lip. In front of him were the Sandaime Hokage, the entire first division of anbu, two jonin, four special jonin, and his teammate Jiraiya, albeit with one arm wrapped up. Furthermore, they had just called for reinforcements. Outside, the rest of the anbu division were busily putting the village in a state of temporary lockdown.

His chakra was drained, his genjutsu had been ruined, and his Jinchuuriki had joined the enemy. The boy he was supposed to capture had gone after the reanimated Shodai, and Orochimaru could feel that he had been sealed along with the two other Edo Tensei kage. What a lovely plan this was.

Surrounded by a small sea of dead snakes, he peered out from under a curtain of white hair with a murderous look in his eyes.

"Give up, Orochimaru," his former sensei said sadly, "you cannot win like this. You will not be able to capture Naruto."

No, there was a small possibility. He could use his use his final trump card, his Eight Branches Technique. However, it would do no good. By the time he had managed to kill the Sandaime with it, his chakra would be completely lost and he would have no strength to go after the Kyuubi brat _or _the Uchiha boy. He briefly contemplated using it anyway. After all, it didn't seem like he was going to leave the place alive, and he may as well take down the man who had kicked him out of his village while he died.

He felt a sudden breeze behind him and saw Tobi appear slowly, spiraling out of his mask's one eye with his 'Ultimate Escape Technique'. A brief spark of hope lit itself inside of him. Tobi was an Akatsuki member after all; Pein-sama would not have admitted him if he did not think he was strong. And since he had been sent to retrieve Sasuke…wait.

"Where's Sasuke?" Orochimaru hissed, not caring that the Konoha shinobi were able to hear everything.

"Sorry, senpai," Tobi spread his hands innocently, "Tobi has been instructed by his _other _senpai not to bring Uchiha-kun until Orochimaru-senpai finishes his mission."

The snake sannin felt like screaming and strangling his idiotically loyal partner to death. He cursed Pein-sama with everything he had and looked up with gritted teeth. For some reason, Tobi was walking towards him. In seconds, he was close enough to touch.

Suddenly, Tobi reached forwards and grabbed the snake sannin's shirt with one hand. He looked towards the Sandaime and his guards and smiled.

"Tobi and Orochimaru-senpai will be going now, Sandaime-sama, Konoha nin!"

And with that, the two Akatsuki members disappeared.

ooooo

"We should go back and see how the others have done," Kakashi commented, holding Shizune's limp form over his shoulder, "and take Shizune-san to her apartment."

"Where will B no ossan and Utakata-san stay?" Naruto questioned, brushing off his orange jumpsuit. Nearby, the Rokubi's Jinchuuriki reached down and picked up the abandoned bamboo jug of soap solution, slipping it back into place.

"I gotta hide, Naruto. Brother is looking for me, kono yaro." B rhymed, stretching himself out and wincing at the remnants of the pain.

"I'll take you all to my apartment, then. It seems to have become our temporary headquarters anyway," the masked jonin sighed, "most of the village should be under lockdown for safety, so it's unlikely anyone will recognize you, B-san."

"Alright," Utakata agreed, "we will come with you. Is there another Jinchuuriki nearby?"

"Yes, the Ichibi's Gaara," Kakashi confirmed, nodding, "I will consult with him to decide upon our next moves."

The four of them looked around at the land nearby. For almost half a kilometer in either direction, there was nothing but wood. It covered the ground in smooth layers, and rose up in rectangular spikes that shot into the sky. They were currently standing in a crater among the wood that had been created by the thrashing Hachibi. The ground was rough but flat, marred only by the deep holes created by the Tori gates.

"It's hard to believe that we just defeated him," Utakata commented.

"It's _harder _to believe that he wasn't even using his full abilities," Naruto added, "Shodai-jiji was _really _powerful."

"It's worrying," his sensei added, "Madara will not let something like this go to waste. It seems we will have to face far worse than the living, from now on."

"Maybe we should get our hands on this Edo Tensei jutsu ourselves," Utakata suggested lightly, "I know quite a few powerful shinobi who are now dead."

"No," Naruto said firmly, "this is not a jutsu that is supposed to be used. I won't allow it."

"So this is the result of the Edo Tensei?" a new voice spoke up.

All four shinobi turned around sharply to see two figures approaching them, leaping across the tops of the wooden protrusions and down into the crater where they were standing. They stopped a few meters away, allowing themselves to be seen. The first things Naruto noticed about them were the black cloaks with red clouds embroidered into them. The second thing he noticed was the giant bandaged sword swung over one shoulder. The third thing was a face that looked eerily similar to Uchiha Sasuke's.

"So that Orochimaru wasn't boasting after all," Hoshigaki Kisame continued, "he really could revive the dead."

"They seem to have dealt with it admirably," was Uchiha Itachi's only comment. He looked across at Naruto.

"Who are you, kono yaro?" B asked loudly, hands positioned to slip out his seven swords.

"Hoshigake Kisame of Kiri, and Uchiha Itachi, Sasuke's older brother," Kakashi answered from beside him. Realizing that he was too exhausted to help in case the meeting escalated into a fight, he held onto Shizune and stepped back behind Utakata, who was happy to shield him and the iryounin.

"The true question is who are you? You seem to be shinobi who have taken down the Shodai Hokage," Itachi asked softly, remaining perfectly still.

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto!" Naruto yelled. _Some ten year old kid. Blond. Kinda short. Spoke really loudly. _

The boy walked forwards and placed his hands on his hips, "and I won't let Sasuke die of anything but old age!"

**ooooo**

**Tori are the gates that you sometimes see at Shinto shrines. It's hinted at that Hashirama's Myoujinmon could even trap the Jubi. Again, I'm not giving any spoilers, and neither should you :P**

**The battle against the Shodai is officially the longest one so far in this fic. Ten pages. Action like woah (ok this is going in the summary ^^)**

**On that note, the Nidaime's fight may have been a little rushed. INK is sorry. Gomen, ****gomen. **

**I'm happy that you all approve of my fight scenes. I really do work hard on them; I do at least ten minutes of research on the wiki before I write a battle. Research is the key :)**


	21. The Aftermath of the Invasion

**This chapter is a little lighter than all the seriousness of the last. Enjoy (^^)**

**Chapter 21 – The Aftermath of the Invasion**

"Is that so?" Uchiha Itachi asked lightly, eyes fixed on the blond boy. For some reason, he was giving him a contemplating look.

"Yeah! He's my friend!" Naruto yelled, orange chakra beginning to swirl around him. After Sasuke had killed his brother, he had heard of Itachi's 'special mission' through covert lines of communication from Tsunade, but he had to be careful. The Itachi he was facing right now was an Akatsuki member who had not hesitated to seal other Jinchuuriki, and bringing out a friendship speech probably wouldn't help much when he had to keep up appearances with Kisame. Dealing with him right now was the last thing he wanted to do.

However, he knew that they weren't ready to fight. Kakashi and Shizune were out, and B was injured. Utakata had only recently learned how to control his bijuu mode, and even a Jinchuuriki could get caught in the Tsukuyomi. But intimidation tactics worked well when you had two other Jinchuuriki with you.

"That kid is the one who took down Kakuzu," Kisame commented, casually lifting his sword from its position over his shoulder, "he's just as short and blond and loud as the old man described. And the younger Hatake is right there, looks like his father even with that mask on. Seems weakened, though. Pity."

"Kakashi-sensei could kick your butt even if he's exhausted!" Naruto called, crossing his arms.

"Oi, Naruto-kun. Don't provoke them," Kakashi whispered softly from behind him, "B-san and I are in no position to fight right now and we don't even have medical support."

Naruto gritted his teeth and held his place in front of them with Utakata, "sensei, take Shizune-san and B no ossan and get back to Konoha. Utakata and I will hold them off."

"These are Akatsuki members?" Utakata whispered, "how strong are they?" He looked at the two cloaked figured worriedly, reaching for his soap solution.

"Very strong. Don't look into that one's eyes," Naruto instructed.

"Well, it seems that we will have to retreat," Uchiha Itachi said suddenly and rather loudly.

Beside him, Kisame almost tripped over his feet, "wait, why?" His face turned slightly bluer as he regarded his partner in shock. It was a general occurrence for Itachi to deny him blood, but he had never before retreated from a major battle, especially one that furthered the vision of their organization.

"Well obviously because they have three Jinchuuriki with them," the older Uchiha answered calmly.

"And one of them is injured! There's just more to capture! Pein-sama will be ecstatic!"

"Our mission was to find out how Hidan and Kakuzu died," Itachi replied, "there is no need to tire ourselves with more fighting."

"But…you were the one who suggested bringing the Hatake back!"

"And now I am suggesting otherwise," the calm voice replied. His eyes turned back to Naruto, "I will see you again soon, Uzumaki Naruto."

With that, the two of them shunshined out of the crater, leaving four very confused shinobi behind.

_**The aftermath of the invasion:**_

"Done," Jiraiya stood back and observed the bundle wrapped in seal paper before him. He turned around to see the typically impassive Gaara, with Temari and Kankuro standing on either side of him.

"Thank you for you help in the sealing," Temari said graciously, using the manners that had been well trained into her, "may we have your name?"

"I'm Jiraiya!" The white-haired sage winked "you can send me a date and time later and I'll think about it." Although seeing the way he was eying her, it didn't seem like thinking was something he planned on doing.

Temari decided to screw her manners and raised her fan threateningly.

"There's no need for that," Gaara said softly, placing a hand on her arm. She looked almost surprised that he would willingly initiate contact and managed to forget about the toad sage's perverted intentions for the moment.

He turned back to his combat partner, "Jiraiya-san, how are the others?"

"Oro-teme has managed to escape with Tobi with no major injuries farther than chakra loss," the toad sannin began with a grimace, "but sensei and everyone else are alive. The first division of anbu suffered a few non-fatal wounds and my arm will take a while to heal, but that's pretty much it," he sighed and looked across at the sealed body of the Kazekage, "we managed to seal the Nidaime pretty quickly. It wasn't too impressive, since he actually _helped _us defeat him and it was _still _hard, but it worked, and it's going to be added into my official title," at that, he flashed Gaara a wide grin.

The Suna boy simply waited for him to continue with the report.

Jiraiya sighed, "well, Kakashi-kun and Naruto-kun came back safely. Apparently they had some aid in defeating and sealing the Shodai, but they didn't tell me exactly who helped. They only said that I'll be meeting them soon. He and Naruto are currently headed up to the Hokage's tower, their presence has been requested. Uchiha Sasuke is still safely in the hospital, although Gai-kun reported a disturbance that I'll have to look into. The state of emergency lockdown has been lifted from the village, and the anbu are beginning to write up their reports. Poor things will be up all night."

"Why are you telling us this?" Kankuro questioned. It was strange to see this Konoha shinobi behaving so casually with his younger brother. He had appeared out of nowhere minutes after they had managed to completely trap their father's armless, legless body in sand.

"Ah, all the other Suna diplomats have been lead out of the village for their safety, and I think Suna should know what has happened, or this might escalate into an international misunderstanding. One Suna jonin, his name was 'Baki', I think, decided to stay behind and collect you three, but he doesn't know where you are. He is waiting in the ground floor of the Hokage's tower," Jiraiya explained.

Gaara turned to face his siblings, "Temari, Kankuro. Please go see Baki-sensei and tell him that I will come after I take care of some things. If he asks where I am, tell him that I am with Jiraiya of the Sannin."

His voice was back in its commanding tone, and his siblings nodded and turned to leave.

"Oi! Jiraiya-san!" A new voice called.

The two of them turned to see a shinobi in jonin vest emerging from the chunin exam center and heading towards them, a senbon needle in his mouth.

"Genma-kun? Aren't you supposed to be writing your report?" the toad sannin questioned.

The jonin stopped right before them and shrugged, "I'll just change the name on Raido's report to mine, no big deal. We're just pitying all the new genin for the next few weeks. The building is pretty badly damaged, and they're probably going to be on repair duty," he looked across the gardens, "and it seems like this place is pretty bad too. Pity, Konoha takes pride on showing off these gardens to the foreign diplomats during chunin exam time. We're a little short on money too, so we may not be able to repair them completely."

"That should not be a problem," Gaara interrupted, "You may inform Sandaime Hokage-sama that Suna is willing to pay for his losses."

He tuned to gesture at the vast piles of Gold Dust behind him, and Genma's senbon dropped right out of his mouth as he realized what the shining material was.

ooooo

"So," the Sandaime Hokage began, fingers steepled in front of him, "explain."

Naruto and Kakashi looked back, the very pictures of innocence.

"What would you like us to explain, Sandaime-sama?" Kakashi asked, feigning ignorance, "I already promised to write up a report on our fight with the Shodai." That was definitely not true. He was planning on making Shizune do it.

"While that makes me curious enough, I am asking about other things," Sarutobi Hiruzen said in a low voice, "let's start from the beginning. How on earth did Naruto become a _sage_?"

"I used Ero-Sennin and Kashi-sensei's special training method," Naruto chirped, "I trained with a thousand clones, so I could learn sage mode in one thousandth of the time it would normally take! It still took a month, though…"

"That's true," Kakashi lied, "Naruto's Kage Bunshin return their memories to him, so he was able to learn a thousand times faster. It tired him out a lot and Jiraiya needed to be on hand to help seal him if the Kyuubi's chakra leaked out, but as you can see, it was worth it."

There was silence as the Hokage contemplated it. He removed his pipe and blew out a small circle of smoke as he thought. Finally, he turned back to the two shinobi.

"That is…impressive. I don't think that even Jiraiya could perform the perfect sage mode transformation," he began, "but that doesn't explain how you were able to help take down the Shodai Hokage. Don't deny it; I have witnesses that say that both you, Shizune-san _and_ Naruto left the village with the reanimated Shodai. I can understand the Shizune-san was there as your field iryounin, but why Naruto?"

Kakashi kept his face perfectly emotionless, "the truth is, Sandaime-sama, that Jiraiya-san has been training him in fuuinjutsu. I knew that the only way to defeat him was to seal him, so I kept Naruto a few meters away drawing up a seal while I fought him. I was required to use my Mangekyou Sharingan for the first time, but luckily Shodai-sama was nowhere near his full strength, and he instructed me on how to best defeat him," he finished. They had all agreed that it would be better for international relations if they did not mention B's or Utakata's part in the fight. Especially since B was currently being hunted down by the Raikage himself.

"So you are able to use the Mangekyou. If I may ask-"

"Nohara Rin." Kakashi stated simply.

The Hokage considered this in silence, and then sighed, "well, I have some of my best anbu trying to track down Orochimaru and this other Akatsuki member, and Shiore and Miyu's bodies have been found rotting near the false Kazekage's hotel..."

"What will you inform their village head?" Kakashi asked.

"I'll tell them the truth, of course," Sarutobi Hiruzen stated bravely, proving once again that he was worthy of his position, "Naruto, you may leave. Kakashi-san will be out in a few minutes."

"Alright, Sandaime-jiji!" Naruto grinned and left the room quickly.

"Is this about the chunin promotions?" Kakashi asked, turning back to the Hokage.

"Yes, it is. Unfortunately, due to this incident we cannot give anyone exam promotions…but there are a few genin to whom I would like to offer promotions in the guise of 'field promotion' since they showed great reliability during the invasion, and _also_ showed prowess in the tournament matches," he began, lifting a sheet of paper from nearby.

"The first is Nara Shikamaru of Konoha," he started, pulling out Shikamaru's file, "he showed an remarkable knowledge of strategy during his fight with Temari, and many were very impressed with how he used his surroundings. He also showed great leadership qualities when he successfully led the other genin out of the chunin exam centre upon Orochimaru's arrival. All the genin in the arena were taken safely to the nearby hospital in time for the emergency lockdown, and my anbu did not even need to intervene. Asuma has already agreed with my decision, and is approaching his student with the offer," he picked up another file.

"The second is Temari of Suna. She has shown excellent chunin-level abilities in her fight against Naruto, and she knew when to resign wisely instead of fighting a hopeless match. She also helped take down the Kazekage himself, and although I cannot offer promotions to her brothers because they were not in the finals, I would like to suggest that she, at least, be promoted. I will, of course, be speaking with Baki-san later on about her status," he put it away and picked up a third file.

"Finally, I would like to offer a promotion to Uzumaki Naruto of Konoha. His abilities while fighting Orochimaru disguised as Shiore were probably already jonin-level, and he seems to have learned fuuinjutsu well enough to help you seal the Shodai Hokage. Will you take this promotion offer to him?" The old man looked at him from under the wide brimmed hat.

"Yes, I will," Kakashi nodded, "although I think he would have wanted to become a chunin _along_ with the rest of his team," he explained sheepishly, "they've all grown rather close."

A warm smile spread on the Hokage's face, "it relives me to hear you say that, and I'm glad that I had faith in your teaching abilities. He has grown up well, hasn't he?"

"I'm very proud of him," Kakashi agreed. The praise of his teaching abilities made him wince slightly. The truth was that Naruto had taught him much more than he had ever taught the boy, now or in the future.

"Well, approach him with the offer, and tell me what he says," the Sandaime decided, "you may leave now, Hatake Kakashi. I expect your report by tomorrow."

"Yes, Sandaime-sama," the jonin bowed his head and turned around to leave the room.

Outside, he found Naruto waiting impatiently against the wall.

"What did Sandaime-jiji want to talk about?" He asked, turning to leave the tower.

"He's offering you a field promotion," his sensei replied, following the blond boy down the stairs.

"Awesome!" Naruto jumped and punched the air mid-step, "I didn't think I'd actually ever become a chunin with the way things were going," he said more softly, falling into step beside the jonin.

"Oh? Why not? Weren't you a chunin or jonin?" He asked softly, "I though you saved the village and defeated Akatsuki members?"

"Nah, I was still a genin, even when I fought Nagato," Naruto replied, sticking his tongue out, "I was totally prepared to become the first genin Hokage. Just imagine it, Rokudaime Hokage Uzumaki Naruto: genin of Konoha!"

"Hmm, that would go over well with the Daimyo," Kakashi said dryly. They finally came to the base of the stairs, into the first floor of the Hokage's tower. It doubled as a waiting room.

In one corner were Temari, Kankuro, and their sensei Baki, discussing something in low tones. Naruto grinned and waved, and the two Suna genin waved back tentatively. Kakashi had asked Jiraiya to bring Gaara with him back to the apartment and acquaint themselves with Utakata and B, so the red-haired boy wasn't with the rest of his team.

Most of the chairs along the wall were filled with anbu who had their masks hung on their hips and pencils in their hands, scribbling up reports ferociously. The protocol for situations such as this was widespread report verification, where all those involved would write up reports, and some poor souls in the filing department would sort thought them all and make sure everything was consistent.

Kakashi walked over to one recognizable face nearby, sitting at the end of the line of seats. His head was down, revealing messy brown hair on top of a hitai-ite worn Nidaime-style.

"Yo," he waved casually.

The anbu looked up at him and winced, "Kakashi-senpai," he greeted with a worried look.

"Tenzou-kun, you really work too hard" Kakashi replied, looking down at the pages of messy handwriting attached to the clipboard on Tenzou's lap. He reached out and ruffled the younger man's hair a bit more vigorously than necessary.

The anbu operative smiled nervously under his senpai's hand, remembering the years of teasing he had taken from the older man. His teammates watched the exchange with humor in their eyes, temporarily distracted from their own writing.

"I must write up the reports by morning before I forget any details, Kakashi-senpai," he replied, hoping the other man would go away.

"Really, Tenzou-kun, you should take a break. What if I told you that Shodai Hokage-sama himself advised you to settle down with a nice girl?..."

The younger anbu operative seemed to choke on his own saliva, and nearby, Naruto laughed uncontrollably.

ooooo

Sitting upright in his hospital bed, Sasuke looked on curiously as Hyuga Neji inserted a single carnation into the glass of water on the table near him. He kept his gaze centered on the older boy as Neji went back to sit down at the chair near Tenten's bed.

"Neji, why are you bringing Sakura-chan and Sasuke-kun flowers?" his teammate questioned. Sasuke didn't say anything, but he kind of wanted to know why as well. No one had brought him flowers in over five years. Although, that could be because he hadn't been to the hospital in the past five years.

"It is only polite to bring flowers when visiting someone in a hospital," the Hyuga boy said, his tone slightly haughty.

"Err…you're here to visit me," Tenten pointed out, "it really isn't necessary to take flowers to every one else in my hospital room."

Neji did not dignify that with an answer.

"I think it's sweet. Thank you, Neji-kun," Sakura spoke up, looking happily at the lone flower which was soaking up her drinking water.

"I wonder when Lee will wake up," Tenten thought out loud, watching the pale figure in the bed next to hers, "he's been under sedation for an entire day now…"

"I'm really sorry about hurting your teammate," Sakura told her, biting her lip.

"It's fine. You fought really well, Sakura-chan," the older kunoichi smiled.

"I did what I could," the pinkette responded humbly, "you were amazing, Tenten-san. You beat your first two opponents so easily…"

"Oh yes," Tenten replied dryly, "I'm very powerful. Tremble before me and my bandages," as Sakura giggled, she turned to her teammate, "Neji, have they said anything about promotions?"

At this, even Sasuke listened in. Along with Sakura, Tenten, and Lee, he had been bedridden for the past few hours while some sort of _invasion _had occurred, and Neji was their only source of information. The village had been put under emergency lockdown for a few hours, and Neji had been dutifully running around trying to get as much information as he could from the adults who were stuck inside the hospital during the lockdown. Since the state of emergency had been lifted, he and Gai-sensei had gone outside for a while to learn what had happened.

"It turns out that the Kazekage was an imposter, the disguised Orochimaru of the Sannin," the Hyuga boy explained seriously, "and that the competitor Shiore of Kusa was actually his kage bunshin."

He waited until everyone had finished gasping in shock. Sasuke's eyebrows rose.

"Therefore the tournament was compromised," he went on, "and they cannot offer any promotions based solely on your matches. However, there are rumors that Nara Shikamaru has gotten a field promotion for aiding during the attack."

"Smart kid," Tenten commented, "too bad we were we all here in the hospital when it happened. He's the very first field promotion since the Third Shinobi War ended. That _has _to look good in a profile."

"It does indeed," Neji replied stoically. He then turned to give Sasuke a searching look, "Uchiha Sasuke, somebody came to take your body while you were sleeping," he told him.

Sasuke's eyebrows went up, "someone tried to kidnap me? Who?"

"We don't know," Tenten bit her lip, "Gai-sensei was prepared to fight him, but it seemed he…changed his mind and disappeared."

The Uchiha boy looked at the wall, considering this in silence.

Tenten then turned to shoot Neji a long and searching, "so, when are you going to go, Neji?" She asked.

"Go where?"

"Go visit her."

"Visit who?"

Tenten sighed, "you know who I mean, Neji. Hinata-chan is in the opposite room. She'll probably recover a lot faster if she saw you there. You probably scarred her for life, so you owe her this, at least."

Neji thought of arguing. For a few minutes, he even thought it was the better idea. Then he remembered how stubborn the lone kunoichi on his team could be, and thought better of it. He retrieved a flower from Tenten's bouquet and stood up silently to exit the room, hoping desperately that Hinata-sama would still be asleep.

ooooo

On the way back to the apartment, Naruto and Kakashi met up with Shizune, who was heading back after being discharged from the hospital. Since her only injuries were chakra loss, she had woken up on the other jonin's back close to where they had dropped her at the hospital, and the iryounin had given her a few soldier pills and sent her on her way.

"Shizune-chan," Kakashi greeted, "Did you know that I carried you for over five kilometers?"

"Er-"

"Mou…of course you do. How would you like some practice on writing mission reports?" The masked jonin asked with a smile.

Naruto watched, trying not to laugh, as the kunoichi scraped together her pride as a free-thinking human being.

"No," she refused politely, crossing her arms.

"Mou…Shizune-chan…" Kakashi slumped his shoulders. He was already imagining the dark circles he would soon have under his one revealed eye…

"I hope B and Utakata have found your apartment," she commented.

"B no ossan would probably get completely lost, but Utakata-san is smart," Naruto informed her, "they're probably already waiting inside with Gaara and Ero-Sennin."

"I see…"

They paused on front of Kakashi's door as he turned the handle and pushed it open.

"They're here," Utakata called, seeing the other three step inside. He was carefully balanced on the arm of the overloaded couch.

Upon seeing B, Shizune rushed over and bit her lip, "B-san! I'm so sorry I collapsed halfway through your treatment, are your injuries ok? Do the muscles feel alright? Could you please bend over so I can make sure that the gashes on your back don't open up? Can you turn your head properly so that I can see if the cuts on your neck are ok?"

Rather than comply with all her commands, B simply stood up and turned around in place, revealing skin that was perfectly smooth and unscarred. There was no indication that he had been bleeding heavily only hours earlier.

Shizune gasped, "What-"

"It's Gyuki, kono yaro. He heals me, baka yaro," the Kumo nin replied, settling back down on the couch.

"You jinchuuriki have all the luck…" Jiraiya commented from where he was sitting on the couch next to B.

"It comes at a cost, Jiraiya-san," Gaara reminded him. He was still standing with his arms crossed.

Naruto rushed in and settled down in the limited space between B and his shishou, "our mission was mostly a success!" He exclaimed, "Sasuke is safe!"

"However, it, too, came at a cost," Kakashi added, settling down on the table in front of the couch beside Shizune, "Orochimaru is not dead, and this time he is part of the Akatsuki. If they learn of his Edo Tensei, we will have stronger opponents to deal with in the future."

The room's atmosphere sobered, and everyone gathered slowly mirrored frowns.

"Well, I must return to Sunagakure," Gaara stated impassively, "As the son of the Kazekage, I need to prevent my village from falling into chaos with the death of its leader. I will recommend Baki-sensei to take the position of kage for now, since he is already a member of the advisory council. I will have to covertly aid him through the policies, so it should take a year for everything to calm down. After that, I will return to Konoha to begin taking out Akatsuki members. In my absence, I leave all our planning to Kakashi-san."

Kakashi nodded, "that seems wise. If we leave things alone in Suna, they may begin a skirmish with Konoha and that's the last thing we need. Does anyone else have plans?"

"Me an him are gonna take out Kisame, yeah!" B added, swinging an arm over a reluctant Utakata's shoulder's.

"Actually, I don't think that's smart, B-san," Jiraiya suddenly spoke up, "I've been hearing from my contacts that the Raikage is _very _serious about finding you. You are Kumo's prized Jinchuuriki, after all. He's not taking your 'sabbatical' very well. All of Kumo is suffering from his high blood pressure."

B crossed his arms, but he understood the situation, "ok, I'll go see Brother..."

"Use the time to your advantage," Kakashi added, "and take Utakata-san with you. Teach him how to use the Rokubi's chakra so that he can use his suiton jutsu in battle instead of relying on the bijuudama, which is tiring and chakra intensive. When he is able to do so, you can contact Jiraiya-san again and he will give you hints on where Hoshigaki Kisame is located."

Utakata and B both nodded.

"So if Gaara and Jiraiya and Utakata are occupied, then I don't think we can easily go after the remaining members of the Akatsuki, since they are all incredibly strong," Kakashi continued, "the best course of action would be to train and gather information and allies. We will wait until the time is right, and then strike Amegakure and find Nagato."

"You know," Naruto began, "at around this point in the future, Ero-Sennin took me with him on a training trip," he explained. He fixed wide blue eyes on the toad sage expectantly.

"Oh, well, alright," Jiraiya shrugged, "there's still a lot about fuuinjutsu that I can teach you. In fact, we can go find Tsunade-hime and Yugito-san and stay with them. I hear that Yugito-san has complete control over her Nibi, so she may be able to train you in how to perform the complete bijuu transformation. And _I _get to see my hime again…" He drooled slightly.

_Take the offer, _Kurama spoke up from within his mind, _with Matatabi's help, even someone like you has some sort of hope. _

"I'll go with you, Ero-Sennin!" Naruto exclaimed happily. Even without the offer of bijuu training, he was still willing to go on the training trip. Those years that he had spent with his shishou were filled with wonderful memories, and he desperately missed his Tsunade baa-chan.

"Well, that's settled, then. I will remain in Konoha and continue to train Sakura and Sasuke. And yes, Naruto, before you ask, I _will _keep an eye on Sasuke all the time. He is _not _going to leave the village on my watch," he crossed his arms, and then turned to Shizune, "Shizune-san. Do you want to stay here, or go with Jiraiya and Naruto? We need you to be our iryounin, so choose wherever you think you will improve more."

The kunoichi bit her lip, "well, if you had asked me that a few months ago, I would have definitely chosen to go back to Tsunade-sama. However…the truth is that Tsunade-sama has already taught me very advanced iryou-ninjutsu, but I have no one to practice on. I think…I've really improved during my stay at the hospital, and they're willing to offer me a position in the near-fatal injury ward, which only the very skilled iryounin usually get into. I have Tonton to keep me company anyway, even if she's a little angry from being locked up in my apartment for the past forty hours. I think I can learn a lot here in Konoha, and be of more use when the time comes," she smiled, "so I'll stay here, Kakashi-san."

"And this has nothing to do with Gai visiting you at the hospital after your shifts," Kakashi nodded, "understood." He gave her a small smile underneath his mask as she blushed and opened her mouth to protest, "I'm genuinely glad you chose to stay, Shizune-san. It shows that you're dedicated to helping us, and I'm happy that we have someone so skilled on our team," he cut off her protests.

Shizune nodded and reluctantly smiled back. She suddenly felt like a burden had been lifted off her shoulders. She had always assumed that her life's purpose was to care for Tsunade-sama. Ever since her uncle had died, she'd been left alone with no family, and Tsunade was the only person who had valued her while everyone else had been mourning their own lost loved ones after the war. When the beautiful, heartbroken, but strong kunoichi had asked her if she had wanted to go with her, the young Shizune had agreed without a second thought. But now…it felt like she was freeing herself. She would always love Tsunade like a mother or older sister, but now she was going to have her own life as well.

"Also, Naruto," the jonin turned to his student, "you said that Sasuke inherited Orochimaru's summons when he went to him, correct?"

"Yeah," Naruto nodded, not understanding where he was going with the question.

"Well, I'm going to ask Anko to teach Sasuke how to use the summoning contract for the White Snakes," he decided, "it's well known that she cannot use it fully because of her curse seal, but Sasuke should be able to gain its full potential."

"Oi sensei-"

"It makes sense, Naruto," the jonin went on, "if we already know that he is compatible with them, it will really help him become stronger. Also, if he knows that Konoha will help him become stronger, he won't run away with anyone else," he finished, "especially since Uchiha Madara might take an interest in his Sharingan."

Naruto reluctantly agreed that it was a good idea.

"So is everyone accounted for?" Jiraiya asked, looking around the room.

"Yes, I think so," Utakata replied, "B-san and I will start as soon as possible. It is not wise to allow anyone else to know that the Raikage's younger brother is in Konoha. It's getting darker outside, and that should provide cover for us to leave."

"Alright, baka yaro, let's go," B stated, standing up from the couch.

"We'll write lots of letters!" Naruto called, "goodbye, B no ossan," he held out a fist in anticipation.

The taller mean leaned down to bump his own fist against it, "see ya, Naruto. Better come back stronger, kono yaro."

With that, the two Jinchuuriki waved and slipped out of the window and into the night, prepared for long travel and hard training.

"I'll be leaving now as well. Baki-sensei and my siblings should be waiting for me at the Hokage's tower," Gaara stood up to leave.

"Goodbye, Gaara," Naruto told him, "make sure you tell Baki-san that you'll kick him out and become Kazekage yourself one day."

The Suna boy nodded. He bowed his head in goodbye to everyone else in the room and left through the door.

Jiraiya watched them go with a sigh, and turned to Naruto, "well, we should leave sometime soon too."

"The morning after tomorrow morning," Naruto told him, "because Sasuke and Sakura are staying overnight in the hospital, and I want to say goodbye and spend a day with them before I go."

"Alright," the toad sannin stood up and stretched, "that sounds good. After all, the bathhouses are always the most occupied during the mornings…"

ooooo

The next morning, Naruto entered his teammates' hospital room at seven, having gotten up at six in order to spend as much time as possible with them before he left. On the way out of the apartment, he had cheerfully waved to an exhausted Kakashi, who had spent all night scribbling out his report.

He burst into the room with a large grin. Inside was the room assigned to the injured prospective genin (apart from Hinata, who due to her status as clan heir had her own private room). On the left, Tenten was sitting up in her bed, awake. Lee was still sleeping, but his skin had a healthy glow that indicated that he was not sedated. On the right, Sakura was still asleep, and Sasuke was awake, pouring through an iryou-ninjutsu scroll he had requested for light reading as he ignored the older kunoichi's attempts to talk.

"Ah, Naruto-kun," Tenten greeted, "it's good you're here. Stone-face over there makes for incredibly boring conversation," she waved at him.

"Nice to see you awake, Tenten," Naruto told her, going to sit in the chair in the middle of Sakura's and Sasuke's beds, "I was really worried when you fell in the smoke. Did you know you were actually facing Orochimaru?"

"Yeah," she rubbed her head sheepishly, "I'm just lucky that Gai-sensei came in time or I would have died from the poison," she reached down to poke at her stomach, "I'm slowly getting some feeling back, though. The iryounin say I can leave by noon."

"That's good," Naruto grinned. He heard a shifting and looked to one side to see Sakura slowly opening her eyes.

"Naruto?" She asked softly, yawning. She slowly pushed herself up to her elbows and looked around. It seemed that she had been dressed in a hospital gown sometime in the evening.

"Yup. Sasuke-teme's already awake," Naruto reported.

She looked around him to give her other teammate a smile, and the stoic Uchiha managed to give her a nod of acknowledgement. He immediately turned back to Naruto, "dobe, someone came after me yesterday like you said."

Naruto stiffened, "who was it? Orochimaru?"

"No," Tenten added, "it was a person wearing an orange mask, male, about as tall as Kakashi-sensei," she reported, "do you know anything about him?"

"Yeah," Naruto frowned, "his name was Tobi. I think he was the one under henge as the boy from Kusa," he turned to Sasuke, "that's why I ran away from him in the forest. He may not look like it, but he has to be dangerous."

"Why did someone try to kidnap Sasuke-kun yesterday?" Sakura asked, wide-eyed and sitting up in bed. She reached for her glass of water, but then she realized that Neji's flower was still in it, and rang the bell for an iryounin to bring her more.

"Because of his eyes," Naruto answered truthfully. If more people at least knew that Sasuke was a target, then there would be more to protect him, "he's one of the few people left with the Sharingan, and he's also an easier target than his brother, who's older and stronger."

Sakura considered this in worry.

"Ch. By the time they attack next, I'll be strong enough to fight them off," Sasuke retorted. But despite his nonchalance, there was a strange look in his eyes.

At that moment, the door of the room opened and Neji walked in, fresh and in full genin clothing even in the early morning. He gave Naruto and the rest of team Kakashi brief nods and went to sit down in the chair next to Tenten's bed.

"Good morning Neji," Tenten greeted warmly, "Lee's not up yet."

"I never asked," the Hyuga boy replied, "I came to see if you would be discharged and ready to spar because Gai-sensei is not at the training fields and I've done all my jyuuken katas thrice over."

"Sorry, I won't be out till noon," the kunoichi said apologetically, "if he's not at the training fields, where is he? He came to see if Lee was awake an hour ago."

"He's downstairs in the waiting rooms, talking to that dark haired iryounin again," Neji reported, "I think she is on her break. I would assume they're in some sort of relationship, but knowing Gai-sensei, it's more likely that she's his sister."

Naruto tried not to choke in laughter.

"Well, she looks nothing like him," Tenten giggled, "so _there's _a target for you to take congratulatory flowers to…"

Ignoring the antics of Team Gai, Naruto turned back to his own teammates.

"Sasuke, Sakura-chan," he began, "I've got awesome news! I'm going on a training trip with Ero-Sennin!"

"Congratulations, Naruto," Sakura smiled, "you'd better get really strong!" Ah, she hadn't been there to watch his last two matches.

"That sounds like a good experience," Sasuke relented.

"Well Ero-Sennin and Kashi-sensei have a competition to see whose students improve more, so you guys are going to be trained _hard,_" he informed them, "when I come back and sensei gives us the bell test again, we're all going to kick his butt!"

ooooo

Naruto stayed in the hospital for the rest of the day, relishing the free time with his team. An hour later, Lee woke up and promptly began to declare his undying love for Sakura. They had to put up with it for another four hours before Tenten was discharged, and she and Neji dutifully dragged their teammate out to help him recover at his own place.

The next hours were spent explaining what had happened. Naruto went on to describe all the fights they missed and made up Kakashi's fight with the reanimated Shodai, and even Sasuke put down his scrolls to listen in rapt attention.

"Wait," Sasuke interrupted, "sensei has the _mangekyou _Sharingan?" He looked shocked.

"Yeah," Naruto nodded, "the really cool looking one. It looks way more awesome than your boring normal Sharingan."

At this, Sasuke looked worried, "there was a rumor in my clan that attaining the Mangekyou could only be done after the user went through the trauma of killing a lover or best friend."

Naruto held his breath and hoped that the Uchiha boy didn't plan to come after him with a kunai.

"I'm worried for Kakashi-sensei," the normally stoic boy went on, "I wonder what he had to go through…" He looked almost saddened.

Hearing this, Naruto was completely ecstatic. For his first worry to be about his sensei instead of himself…he really had changed.

"I think Sandaime-jiji asked him the same question," Naruto informed him, "sensei said 'Nohara Rin'."

"That's a girl's name," Sakura commented, "you think he lost a lover? That's horrible! First his best friend and then his true love…" She was exaggerating a little, but that was ok.

"We'll ask him about it," Sasuke promised, looking rather determined.

That was good. These two were enough to drag Kakashi out of the past. His sensei was in good hands.

When he finally left, he couldn't resist but give Sakura a warm hug, and the pink haired kunoichi responded. Although they were far from being more than friends, Sakura had really warmed up to him, and that was something he loved. He also managed to hug Sasuke, and it went slightly better than the first time, although the stoic boy barely reciprocated.

ooooo

The news of the invasion soon spread through the rest of Konoha. Jiraiya was able to gain a lot more sympathy from the ladies with his arm in a sling, and he enjoyed every moment of it. Asuma and Kurenai became favorites of the Hokage and the council, and people began to see the younger Sarutobi as a more capable candidate to take his father's place. Although that was mostly because Kakashi was very good at escaping when the council members tried to find him. He wasn't worried, because the Hokage was a perfectly healthy old man.

Special jonin Namiashi Raido was admonished for not handing in his report. He spent the day glaring at Shiranui Genma.

As the news of Kakashi's battle reached young Tenzou's ears, he remembered his senpai's words to him and gulped, realizing that it was true that he really was the only mokuton user alive. If the Shodai Hokage himself wanted him to spread his legacy…from then on, he began to dutifully chase all the female members of his anbu squad. Of course, he was still far from having any sort of love life, and Yugao had to remind him ten times over that she was already with Hayate.

Anko prospered greatly from the invasion. As one of the few non-anbu members who had been with the Hokage, everyone began to come to her and ask her about what had happened. Through various means, she finally met up with Kurenai, the kunoichi she had had a jealousy streak on for years, and the two found that they got along like old wives. With that, Anko forgot about Asuma, and her new life's ambition became to see what was under the Kakashi's mask.

When news of the longevity of Shizune's Shousen reached the hospital, she was immediately offered a place on the iryounin council, which handled only the most difficult injuries and sicknesses. The kunoichi was ecstatic to be the youngest iryounin council member in over fifty years. She went to her apartment and spent hours chattering happily to Tonton.

Gai ended up keeping his promise to take his team out for an early dinner. Lee ate enough for five people after digesting nothing but hospital food inserted directly into his stomach for twenty hours, and Gai drank enough to put a whole anbu division under. At the end of the meal, Tenten had repeatedly apologized to the waiters as Neji scrounged around in their collective wallets to make up for the half of the bill that Gai's own wallet did not cover. In reality, the man was probably rich with all the missions he did, but chose to keep his wallet 'light, for easy movement!' Lee seemed to find no problem at all in the scenario, and happily took his sensei to his apartment while Neji insisted on walking Tenten to her guardian's home as a sign of friendship and apology.

Kakashi joined his team in the hospital that evening in the training grounds after Sasuke and Sakura were discharged from the hospital. The two were under orders not to exert themselves for a few days, so he took the time to explain their new training routines, while his three students waited impatiently to ask him private questioned about his past.

"Sensei, who was Nohara Rin?" Sakura began, giving him the most wide-eyed, curious look she could manage, "she was your lover, right?"

"Naruto, did you tell them that?" Kakashi deadpanned.

"Yeah, she was on your genin team, right?" Naruto offered, vaguely remembering what Jiraiya had told him.

"Yes…but she wasn't my l-"

"How did you kill her?" Sasuke asked abruptly. Sakura looked like she wanted to bash her head against something for his lack of sensitivity, but Kakashi merely rubbed his head sheepishly and told him that it wasn't something they needed to know.

And thus, Sasuke's new goal in life – right below killing Itachi – was to find out how his sensei had killed his lover.

ooooo

The next morning, Jiraiya and Naruto were met with a small send off party that consisted of Gai, Shizune, and the rest of Team Kakashi.

"Ah…there goes my chance of being impressive and leaving without a word," the toad sannin grumbled.

"You can ignore Ero-Sennin," Naruto told them happily, arms clasped behind his head "I'm glad you're here."

"You're leaving at a good time," Kakashi commented, "a lot of people have being coming to me and questioning me about you. Things should have cooled down by the time you get back."

"What do you mean?" Sasuke asked. Due to his complete apathy towards rumors, he still didn't know about the last two matches his teammate had fought.

"I'm a chunin now," Naruto told him, "and when I get back, you two had better be chunin as well!"

"How?" Sakura raised her eyebrows, "I thought the tournament was declared null and void?"

"I got a field promotion," he replied, "along with Shikamaru-kun and Temari-chan!"

"That's…impressive," she responded, remembering that Neji had said the last field promotions had been during the war.

"Well, we should be leaving how," Jiraiya said, throwing his travel pack over a shoulder, "Tsunade-hime isn't going to do research on herself, you know."

"Be careful, Jiraiya-san," Kakashi instructed, "I don't want anything to happen to you before you have the chance to write the next book in the Icha Icha series."

"You got it, Kakashi-kun," the toad sannin winked, "I know you prefer brunettes, but this one will have _lots _of brown eyed blonds in it."

"Say hello to Tsunade-sama for me, Naruto-kun," Shizune told him, "and tell her that I said thank you, and that I've made it into the iryounin council all because of her teachings, and that I hope she'll come back to Konoha one day. I'll be waiting here for her."

"I will, Shizune-san," Naruto promised.

"Yosh! When you return, I will see how far the Springtime of Youth has made you stronger," Gai exclaimed, "and then I will challenge my Eternal Rival to see whose students make jonin first!"

And with that, Naruto and his shishou left Konoha.

ooooo

On the way to Sunagakure, the three children of the former Kazekage and their sensei took a very strange formation. Baki lead the group, walking up front. Gaara stayed a little behind him, already mentally planning how to most easily slip his sensei into the position of Kazekage and make sure Suna remained politically sound.

Meters behind were Temari and Kankuro, who spent the entire day arguing in ferocious whispers.

"You do it!" Temari whispered harshly to her brother, "since father died, this is _your _job."

"No way," Kankuro stood with his arms crossed, "It's not like _father _would have done it anyway! I had to hear it from Baki-sensei last year and it was traumatizing! Don't you want to spare him from that?"

"You're a _guy_! It's _your _responsibility to prevent him from that sort of trauma! What would I know anyway? I heard it from my servant when I was ten!"

"Woah Temari, that's pretty young," Kankuro raised an eyebrow at his older sister.

"That's not the issue here!" Temari protested, "go on and be a responsible older brother!"

"You're the _oldest, _therefore it's _your _job. You know _enough _about it," Kankuro huffed, "and he likes you better than he likes me!"

"No, he likes you better, he helped you with your puppets!" The Suna girl argued.

"He trained with you for a month and _didn't _use any fatal moves! That's brotherly love right there!"

"What," Gaara finally turned around to interrupt, "are you two whispering about?" In front of him, Baki remained stoically facing forwards as his students talked.

Kankuro put a hand on Temari's back and gave his older sister a little shove forward. She turned back to shoot him a menacing glare, but realized that she was put on the spot.

"So," Temari began stiffly, trying to avoid her youngest sibling's curious eyes "we've noticed that your voice is a little different, so as your older siblings, we find the need to inform you about certain changes that will soon happen when-"

"It's fine," Gaara interrupted, regarding his sister which strange humor in his eyes, "there's no need for that."

Temari sighed in sweet relief.


	22. Leader & Moments

**Note: This "chapter" is divided into two parts. **

**The first part "Leader" is chapter 22, and it happens around a month after the invasion.**

******The second part "Moments" shows what is happening with various characters during _Naruto's _time away (I stress 'Naruto's' because they don't all spend the same amount of ****time training, as you'll soon see). It is _not _in chronological order, but there are various indications of when each section happens so it should be clear. Most of these are not essential to the story, they just give a brief overview and a bit of lightness.**

**Chapter 22 - Leader**

"Zetsu-san!" Tobi wailed, "Kisame-senpai is trying to _kill _Tobi!" He hid himself behind Zetsu's plantlike appendages as the other Akatsuki member rose out of the floor and into the floor of the Gedo Mazo's cave.

"Oi Aloe Vera! Hand that bastard over, he's going to _pay_!" Hoshigaki Kisame threatened, a bandaged Samehada in hand ready to sever the man's head.

"_What seems to have happened?" _White Zetsu inquired, feeling Tobi shivering behind him.

"He said something about Kisame's coloring," Uchiha Itachi informed him from where he was standing quietly near one of the giant stone hands, "the Buddha himself would get angry if you insult him thrice."

"No no no, Kisame-senpai is too fishy-looking to be like the Buddha," Tobi disagreed vigorously from behind Zetsu's thick leaves.

"I believe that was the second time," Itachi muttered.

Kisame ran for the newest Akatsuki member with an animalistic snarl, not caring if Zetsu was in the way. He was abruptly stopped by a tendril of vine that snaked around his body, and turned to look menacingly at the source of the vine.

"Let me though, you stupid plant," he hissed, "Samehada needs _blood._"

"Oh! Just like a _real _shark!" Tobi observed.

"And there was the third," Itachi finished.

Kisame was violently hacking away all the vines that were beginning to tangle around him, watching the cowering orange-masked figure with threatening eyes.

"_You can forgive Tobi," _White Zetsu advised him.

"_**Tobi is a good boy," **_Black Zetsu added.

"Stop."

Itachi's command ran though the hollow cave, echoing from the surface of the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path. His voice was quiet, not raised or elevated in any way. However, it stopped the three in their tracks, and they turned to look at the older Uchiha. Kisame reluctantly swung Samehada back over his shoulder, and the vines dropped from around his feet. Tobi stood at attention behind his Zetsu-san.

"What is the news?" Itachi questioned Zetsu, "and why are Pein-sama and Konan-sama not with us today? Have you taken to them the information we had discovered concerning Hidan and Kakuzu?"

"_I have._ _They sent me to inform you of some changes to our plan,_" White Zetsu told him, "_as you've probably heard, Orochimaru's mission last month failed._"

"Yes, we were there," Itachi confirmed, "we would have attempted to assist, but Orochimaru was already inside Konoha with the Hokage and all his defenses, and the Kyuubi's Jinchuuriki was with two other powerful Jinchuuriki and Kakashi of the Sharingan."

"And most of them were injured," Kisame muttered, "we could have taken them."

"Are you challenging my decision?" Itachi asked him softly, fixing him with a red glance.

Kisame gritted his pointed teeth and looked away.

The Uchiha turned back to Zetsu, "go on," he instructed.

"_It seems that he placed his own goals above the retrieval of the Kyuubi's Jinchuuriki," _White Zetsu continued, "_Leader has stated that he is no longer a member of the Akatsuki._"

"We didn't need that snake-face anyway," Kisame dismissed with a wave of his hand.

"Kisame-senpai is right. _Two _animals is one too many," Tobi agreed.

"What did you say, teme?!"

"Again. Stop," came Itachi's voice, "let us allow Zetsu to continue with his report."

"_Although he is not a member, he can be useful. He is the only one alive who knows how to use the Edo Tensei, even if it is incomplete," _White Zetsu went on.

"_**Leader is interested,**_" Black Zetsu added.

"_He is being forcefully held in a special cell within Amegakure where Pein-sama will utilize him for his knowledge while we hunt Jinchuuriki," _White Zetsu finished.

At this, even Kisame winced, "now I just feel sorry for him…I've heard horrible rumors about those places..."

"Why have we been told to come here instead of heading out to capture the Nibi's Jinchuuriki?" Itachi questioned, "we had only just confirmed her location somewhere near the borders of Kaminari no Kuni."

"Yeah," Kisame added, "we were so close. Why'd you call us away?"

"_Tobi has brought us some important intel."_

"_**Tobi is a smart boy.**__"_

"Get _over _the Tobi worship, we all know he's an immature idiot," Kisame hissed.

Both sides of Zetsu gave him a glare, and Tobi managed to give him a one eyed hurt look out of his mask.

"Please go on, Zetsu," Itachi sighed.

"_The Jinchuuriki are now travelling together and with other strong shinobi. That is how Hidan, Kakuzu, Deidara, and Sasori were defeated. Somehow, they know that we are after them. We will no longer be able to deal with them as we are. We have already sealed the Yonbi, Gobi, and Nanabi, but there are five more against us, and they are being wary."_

"Even a Jinchuuriki can fall prey to the Tsukuyomi," Itachi said softly.

"_**Leader is not willing to take chances,**_" came his reply.

"_Orochimaru spent many months drawing up the seals for the Shodai and Nidaime Hokage, but he has improved. He was able to reanimate the Yondaime Kazekage within a month,_" White Zetsu went on, "_however, that was partly because he had his entire body to experiment with. Pein-sama will…ask…him to reanimate certain shinobi in order to strengthen our forces. Once this is complete, we will continue to hunt the remaining five Jinchuuriki,_" he finished.

"And what are we supposed to do until then?" Kisame growled, "I don't like waiting."

"Tobi knows lots of fun games he and his senpai can play!" The masked figure offered helpfully.

But Itachi noticed something that made him frown, "Zetsu, you refer to 'Pein-sama' and 'Leader' separately, as if they are different people," he observed.

"_**Silly Uchiha**_**.**"

"_Of course they are._"

ooooo

**Moments**

**Utakata and B:**

It took only three days to get back to the Hokage's tower. One of those days had been spent traveling from Hi to the border of Kaminari, where they were promptly found by some Kumo nin sent to hunt him down. The next two days had been spent running through the land of Kaminari no Kuni day and night while the retriever-nin had taken B and Utakata on express delivery to the Raikage.

When the news reached Kumogakure that Killer B was back, every citizen heaved a great sigh of relief, and crossed their fingers that the Raikage wouldn't be _too _harsh on his poor brother.

So at noon, Killer B and Utakata were both ushered inside the Raikage's office, having been instructed to come to him as soon as possible.

B looked at A.

A looked at B.

"Yo, brother."

"YOU IDIOT." There went the brand new desk.

Utakata lifted an arm to shield him from the pure, raw anger and casually slipped behind his combat partner, trying to meld into the background.

"Brother," B began, not looking worried in the least, "I learned enka, kono yaro!" he rapped, both hands in front of him.

The Raikage, for the first time in his life, was lost for words. He took a deep breath as he glared at the other half of his tag team, and slowly tried to forget about all the anger management counselors he had killed in the last few months. With that, he put both arms on the severed halves of the wooden desk and pushed them together, taking his seat behind them.

"Explain," he growled.

"Me an' Gyuki, went on sabbatical, baka yaro," B said proudly. He knew his brother better than anyone else, and he knew that eventually, the other man would calm down. It would just take a little time. He was famous for his temper, after all.

"AND STOP WITH THAT RAPPING."

_B, _came Gyuki's voice inside his head, _let me take over. I've observed him well enough during these past years to know how to deal with him. _

B mentally nodded and allowed Gyuki to take over, hoping that his bijuu would settle things faster.

"It's a form of art," came Gyuki's voice in B's body, "and I planned to return."

"You left for months! If the other nations had realized our Jinchuuriki was gone, it could have caused a political disaster!" A rumbled.

"They did realize-"

"Exactly!"

"Well, I've brought back something better," B/Gyuki told him seriously. He reached behind him and clasped one of Utakata's arms, drawing out the reluctant Jinchuuriki from where he was hiding, "he's going to be my student."

A gave Utakata a raised eyebrow and a tired glare, "who is this person and what is he doing in my office?"

Utakata cleared his throat softly, "my name is Utakata, formerly of Kiri. I left their forces a long time ago and was declared a missing-nin. While in hiding, I found B-san, and he offered to be my teacher."

"And why do I care?" A went on, muscled arms crossed over his chest.

"Utakata's a Jinchuuriki like me," B/Gyuki informed him, "he's the container of the Rokubi."

There were a few minutes of silence, before A burst out again.

"HE COULD BE A SPY, YOU MORON! Why would a country give away their Jinchuuriki?"

"I'm not!" Utakata protested, "I didn't even know that I was a Jinchuuriki, and I was dying because I thought my bijuu was a monster that was taking over my mind! B-san helped me survive, and taught me how to control some of the Rokubi's power! If you are willing to provide me with sanctuary while I learn more, I will be happy to aid in missions."

A considered this carefully, "you know, I will have to have you interrogated under truth seal first to see that your loyalties do not lie with Kiri."

"I an willing," Utakata confirmed, trying not to shake at the _glowering _look he was receiving from the well-feared Raikage.

"Utakata will study chakra control under me," B/Gyuki confirmed, "just make sure any missions you send him on include someone that I choose."

"Fine," A grumbled, "I'll think about it. Having the Rokubi would give us three Jinchuuriki, although that Nibi girl is still meditating somewhere. B," he turned the full extent of his murderous look on his brother, "I swear, if you leave like that again…"

ooooo

"Are you _sure _this is a good idea?" Utakata whispered to his combat partner, one leg out of the window and the other leg still inside, reluctant to go. It had been almost a year and a half since he had entered the nation, and he _still _remembered one particular warning. It was firmly lodged in his mind.

"We've got things to do, kono yaro!" B insisted, urging the former Kiri nin to leave the apartment that many of the new Kumo jonin stayed in, "Gaara's calling us, baka yaro!"

"Yes, well remember what your brother said all those months ago?" Utakata bit his lip and pulled his other leg out of the room to sit awkwardly on the windowsill. It had taken him a long time to get used to Kumo's standard chunin gear after walking around in his loose blue kimono, but he had finally relented. They had not provided him with a Kumo hitai-ite, but he had no complaints about that.

It was late evening and Utakata had just returned from a C-rank mission of escorting a debt collector's daughter to her uncle's house. He didn't have enough fingers to count all the covert Kumo operatives who had been assigned to watch his every move during the mission to make sure he wouldn't _betray _Kumo in some way.

The first months in Kaminari no Kuni had been spent training chakra control in the modest apartment style lodgings that he had been provided with. Unlike the jungle, island, and swamp-ridden Mizu, the mountainous Tsuchi, or even the forest-covered Hi no Kuni, Kaminari was a land of grasses and plains, and it was easy to find large expanses of area to practice suiton jutsu in. It also made it very hard to sneak away.

It was only a few weeks ago that he had been deemed 'ready' to begin taking missions for the Raikage. It was usually unheard of for a missing-nin to join another nation, but Utakata had passed every loyalty test they had come up with, and the Raikage had not been able to resist the possession of another Jinchuuriki, which he liked to gather in the same way some liked to collect artifacts.

"Couldn't you at least _tell _him?" he suggested to the other Jinchuuriki who was currently standing outside his window, a travel pack swung over his shoulders. He'd had his own travel pack ready for months, prepared for this day.

"Brother'd lock me up in a cell, yo." Was the only reply.

"What if he thinks Kiri has used me to kidnap you?" Utakata whispered harshly, "we could start an international conflict!"

B thought about how to best explain it to him. He could try telling him that A had the utmost confidence that he was one of the if not _the _most powerful Jinchuuriki alive, since he had full control over his bijuu, and that it would take a veritable army to bring him down, which was something that Kiri didn't have. Plus, A had been keeping a close eye on Utakata's power, and knew that he was nowhere near as powerful as his brother was.

The very last thing the Raikage was currently worrying about was _kidnapping _attempts on his brother. He was keeping an eye on Utakata to see if the man was stealing _information_. The reason he had been so worried before was that he though B might have left for _too long. _Especially when 'a while' turned into _months_. He really had no problem with B leaving for a few days.

So this time, the note he left had been perfectly clear.

_Yo Brother, _

_Goin' on sabbatical again, kono yaro. Be back before one year, one month, five days, and three hours are over, baka yaro. I might leave again after that, though. _

_Killer B._

**Sasuke and Anko:**

Uchiha Sasuke stared at the kunoichi who had appeared in front of him near the gates of training ground forty-four. Spiky ponytail, mesh shirt, brown jacket. That chunin exam proctor who had singled out Naruto.

"Anko-sensei," he began, "what are you doing here?"

He had been told by Kakashi to wait near the gates at noon to begin his special training. He hadn't said anything more than that, and had gone off with Sakura. And so Sasuke and dutifully arrived at training ground forty-four, the one known as the Forest of Death, at twelve o'clock precisely. Five minutes later, Mitarashi Anko was suddenly standing in front of him.

"Because your sensei asked me to and I'm trying to get in his mask," the kunoichi replied bluntly, "you're a cute one, this should be fun," she looked at him from head to toe.

"Why did Kakashi-sensei ask you to meet me here?" Sasuke frowned, ignoring the fact that she seemed to be smitten.

"Because apparently I'm going to be your temporary sensei," Anko replied, "I mean, I'm actually glad I'm a special jonin for the sole reason that I _don't _need to train kids, but you're eye candy, so we should be just fine."

"What are you going to teach me?" The Uchiha boy said between gritted teeth, trying to forget the fact that he was being ogled by a girl who was over twice his age while he was _thirteen_.

"I'm going to train you to summon the White Snakes," she answered, "so far only Orochimaru-sensei and I can do that, and he _made _me compatible because I was pretty young when I learned the summons and my chakra signature was flexible, but Kakashi-senpai seems sure that you'll be compatible too."

"Orochimaru…sensei?"

"Yeah, I was his genin student," she replied nonchalantly, as if she hadn't just professed to studying under a mass murdering psychopath.

"You_ studied_ under that man?" Sasuke asked. The very idea seemed horrible. Over the past few days, he had been doing extensive research into Orochimaru of the Sannin in order to be prepared to face him in the future if he came for his eyes again.

He'd learned disturbing things. Rumors were that he had been doing cruel cellular experiments on young children, and that everyone who met him referred to him as 'twisted.'

Anko shrugged, "he was a lot better looking back when he was sane," she said casually, "now do you want to learn how to summon the White Snakes or not? I have better things to be doing with my time." Like teaming up with Kurenai to ogle Kakashi and Asuma from afar.

Sasuke thought about it deeply. Although it was true that the Snakes were the summons of the twisted Orochimaru, it was obvious that they were powerful. If it would really help him become stronger and help him defeat his brother...

"Alright," he nodded, "I am willing to learn."

"Awesome!" Anko winked, "so here's what we're going to do, kid. First, we're going to go get some dango, because every training session _must _begin with that sort of goodness…"

_Kakashi-sensei, what did you get me into? _Sasuke groaned as the kunoichi dragged him along.

ooooo

It took a few weeks, but slowly, Sasuke and Anko began to grow on each other. Sasuke still liked to maintain a minimum one foot gap between them, but he had to admit that the crazy kunoichi was skilled and well-meaning. Anko eventually got him to loosen up and force-fed him enough dango to make him develop a taste for it.

It was strange, but the two people who didn't seem to get along with many others very well got along perfectly fine with each other.

It had something to do with the fact that they were both revenge obsessed, and took pleasure in discussing how they would kill Itachi and Orochimaru respectively. They would frequently talk about plans that sometimes got slightly too serious, in which case anyone with them – usually Sakura or Kakashi or Kurenai– would politely take their leave and allow the two budding psychopaths to talk about slicing people to their pleasure.

Sasuke also slowly improved. Learning the summoning contract for the snakes took a lot out of him, but he was determined beyond belief and Anko was a good teacher when she wasn't busy ogling him. With Kakashi focused on Sakura, they began to spend more and more time together, which lead to a certain plan being set in motion.

"Do you have a good grip? Senpai wouldn't be very happy if you fell and broke your neck," Mitarashi Anko asked quietly.

"Yes, Anko-sensei" her young student replied, "but do we _have _to do this? If we fail, sensei will be on our case for weeks."

"And if we _succeed, _we'll have bragging rights over all of Konoha," the older kunoichi chirped, "aren't you the least bit _curious_? I mean, you're the one who asked him to his face how he killed some girl."

"Well, yes," Sasuke admitted, "but that's an anomaly. Kakashi-sensei already told us that it's because he looks like his father, so it's not like he hides it because of a wart or anything interesting…"

"Just do your part, Uchiha boy," Anko snapped, holding the back of his shirt with one hand just in case he fell.

They were both currently standing on the thin stone edge that ran around each floor on the outside of the apartment compound, balanced almost precariously on the tips of their toes and crouched down. Their mission was clear: catch a glimpse of Hatake Kakashi's face once he exited the bathroom after his shower. For this, they had been standing on that edge for over an hour after they followed him to his apartment, peering though a small opening in the curtains on the window of his bedroom.

Sasuke had a feeling that getting to know where his sensei lived was the only reason that Anko had originally been willing to take him on as a student.

"Anko-sensei, this really isn't right," he muttered. They could hear the faint sound of running water from the shower inside.

"Oh, like you're the paragon of virtue," the kunoichi retorted.

"I mean, what if he's not wearing anything else, either? I think he went in with a robe, so he's going to change in his room…"

"Even better," Anko agreed, "why, does the little boy want me to cover his eyes for him?"

"Ch! I'm almost fifteen!"

"He's out," she whispered harshly as they heard the doorknob turn. He came out backwards, holding a small pile of dirty clothing, and shut the bathroom door behind him.

Kakashi turned around and undid the robe in one swift move, letting it fall to the floor. Underneath, he was _thankfully _wearing a small towel in the right place. However, when he turned, he was _also _wearing another piece of cloth. Right across his face. He showered with his mask on.

He headed immediate for the window and thrust it open in their faces, eyes crinkling as he smiled under his mask.

"Oh! Anko-chan, Sasuke-kun! I hope you weren't waiting for me-"

"You wear a mask in the shower?" Sasuke erupted, staring at his sensei incredulously.

"Mou…back in the anbu, sometimes there would be emergency missions and they would have to retrieve me from wherever I was…luckily I came with my own mask."

Mitarashi Anko and her new student Uchiha Sasuke fell off the ledge.

**Jiraiya and Naruto:**

It wasn't hard to find Senju Tsunade. Granted, none of his contacts knew where to find Nii Yugito when he asked for her instead – she was a slippery one – but Tsunade of the Sannin left a trail of recognition everywhere she went, even when she _wasn't _the Legendary Sucker.

So within a week, Naruto and his shishou were standing in front of a little inn in a village near the borders of Kaminari no Kuni. Since Jiraiya had left the work of keeping up with his contacts to Yugito and Tsunade, he had confirmation from five sources that they had been staying in this particular inn for over three days.

"Let's go, then, Orange-kun," the toad sannin said cheerfully, ruffling the younger's boy's yellow hair. He had been hearing about how excited Naruto was to see 'Tsunade baa-chan' for the past week, and now the boy was bursting with glee.

"Yeah," Naruto agreed, dragging his shishou inside with him. They went directly to the innkeeper's desk, "hey, oji-san," he called, "do you know where Senju Tsunade is staying?"

"Yeah," the innkeeper shot back, room eleven, down there," he pointed, "do you want to get a room too?"

"Yes, but we'll be right back. After we go see them," Jiraiya explained. He turned around to see Naruto already heading for the room, "Oi Naruto! Are you walking or bouncing?!"

When he opened the door to the double room, both Tsunade and Yugito were inside. The Nibi's Jinchuuriki was someone Naruto had never actually seen before. She was a lean, slightly short kunoichi with proud features and a Kumo hitai-ite tied tightly around her forehead. She was sitting cross legged on one futon with her hands on her knee and palms upturned, meditating.

On the other futon was Tsunade of the Sannin in all her glory. She was sitting upright and glaring at the other kunoichi for being boring and quiet instead of chatting. Her two blond ponytails and the lack of wrinkles and the purple White Strength Seal diamond on her forehead were exactly as Naruto remembered. When the door burst open, she turned towards him and unconsciously raised her guard.

"Tsunade baa-chan!" He yelled, running at her with his arms wide.

ooooo

A few hours later, Naruto woke up on a soft futon. He opened his eyes and tried to sit up, only to discover that he had a massive headache.

"He's awake," a low voice commented from nearby.

He pushed himself up and ignored the pounding in his head to see that Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Yugito were all sitting nearby. When Tsunade saw him, she huffed and walked over.

"Let me see that," she instructed. Naruto dutifully leaned forward and sighed as the familiar warmth of the Shousen spread across his skull.

"You hit the poor boy rather hard, Tsunade-sama," the other kunoichi commented.

"Well, when people randomly run at you, it isn't a good sign," Tsunade grumbled. Despite her harsh tone, her hands were gentle on Naruto's head.

"I think he was going for a hug, actually," Jiraiya added, "I mean, who wouldn't?"

"Eyes up, Jiraiya."

A few seconds later, the rest of the pain vanished and the hands left his head. He looked up to see the future Godaime Hokage holding him at arm's length.

"So, this is Uzumaki Naruto, the one who started this mess," she observed, "what did you call me?"

"Tsunade baa-chan!" Naruto chirped happily.

"…I'll wait until your head is fully healed before I hit you again or you may lose whatever brain cells you have left," Tsunade conceded, "do I _look_ oldto you, boy?"

"Well, no. But you're the same age as Ero-Sennin, so you must be old," he explained, shrugging under her hands, "it's ok, I like old people. There's lots of interesting old people in the world; Sandaime-jiji, Chiyo baa-sama, Ero-Sennin…."

"Ero-Sennin?" She raised an eyebrow and look back at her former teammate, "ok, I think I actually like this kid."

"Uzumaki Naruto," Yugito began, "my name is Nii Yugito, and I am the Jinchuuriki of the Nibi. I, too, have memories of the future, however I believe I died so I am not sure how much farther your memories extend."

"Eh? Who killed you?" The blond boy asked.

"Hidan and Kakuzu," she admitted, "I thought I could take them, but Hidan managed to attain a few drops of my blood before I knew about his ritual."

"Ah, then I have around a year of extra memories," Naruto explained, "I was the one who killed Kakuzu."

"This kid took down an Akatsuki member? I realize that he's a Jinchuuriki, but still…" Tsunade gave him a contemplative look.

"Yup, I'm Uzumaki Naruto. I took down an Akatsuki member and helped take down the Shodai, and I'm going to be Hokage one day, believe it!"

"Oh great. Another one," the kunoichi sighed and turned back around.

Naruto shuffled around and threw the blanket off his futon, slipping his feet out. He had almost forgotten about the state his Godaime had been in when he first met her. After hearing Jiraiya's stories about Nawaki and Dan, he didn't really think he could blame her, but that didn't mean he wasn't going to pound the sense back into her.

"You know, Shizune-san told me to tell you something," he began, "she says to tell you that she says thank you for teaching her everything she knows, and that she's going to remain in Konoha and make a life for herself with her new position on the iryounin council."

"My Shizune is a skilled iryounin," the slug sannin nodded and smiled, "she deserves it, and I don't doubt her worth. A young and fresh new face is always good on that council of old hags."

"She said that a long time ago, she didn't know what she was going to do with herself after her uncle died," he continued.

"Trust me, I know the sentiment," Tsunade replied with a hard edge to her voice.

"But I know she's gotten over it, and she's going to be one of the best iryounin Konoha has ever had."

Jiraiya and Yugito watched the exchange curiously from their seats on the other futon. They had an inkling of an idea that Naruto had a point to this explanation, but they couldn't exactly identify it.

"You know, Tsunade baa-chan," Naruto began again, "we're going to stay with you for a while. Mostly because I need to train with my bijuu and Ero-Sennin has to catch up with his contacts and write another ecchi book. But I came here because of another reason."

"Oh?" Tsunade raised an eyebrow, "and what is that?"

"I want to make a bet with you," Naruto told her.

"I haven't gambled in months, kid. That paragon of discipline there has been taking the fun away," she grumbled, pointing a finger at Yugito, who smiled knowingly.

"If I win, you have to become the Godaime Hokage after Sandaime-jiji is out of office," he put forth.

"Hmm," the slug sannin pushed one blond ponytail over her shoulder. The stakes were high, but that was the sort of game she liked best.

"And if I lose, I'll give you twenty thousand ryo and you won't need to help us stop the trigger if you don't want to," he staked.

Tsunade considered. Twenty thousand ryo was enough to be able to buy her quite a lot of sake. She spent a while thinking, and then looked back at the blond kid in front of her, "fine, what is the bet?"

"I bet that by the end of my training trip, you'll step inside Konoha."

ooooo

A year later, Yugito and various Narutos were sitting cross legged on the grass in the middle of a large field surrounded on one side by fencing which lead to grazing grounds. Their latest location was a small farming village near the northern borders of Hi no Kuni, just beyond the beginnings of their country's famous forests. If they walked a few more kilometers north, they would reach the large rice paddy fields of what had formerly been Ta no Kuni.

Over the last few months, they had taken to travelling wherever Jiraiya went. It seemed that unlike Tsunade, his wandering was not due to hermithood; the Hokage had trusted him with various important information gathering tasks. His contacts were spread over the five greater nations, and he kept up with them and reported anything suspicious directly to the council.

So far, he had discovered quite a few things. Firstly, Orochimaru of the Sannin was absolutely nowhere to be found; it was both worrying and relieving. Another piece of strange information was that the Akatsuki members Itachi and Kisame also seem to have vanished. That was far more worrying, but nothing could be done for the time being further than keeping an eye out for them.

They had originally planned to leave for a year at most, but the months drew on longer as Jiraiya got more and more shrugs from his information contacts.

Tsunade had accepted Naruto's challenge, confident in the fact that she would not be stepping into Konoha again. She had asked him where he would be getting his money, and Naruto had replied that he had friends in high places. Seeing as he personally knew the Kazekage's son and the Raikage's brother, she didn't doubt it. Yugito had continued her 'sabbatical' with them, and had become Naruto's latest sensei, training him in the art of bijuu chakra-usage while Jiraiya trained him in fuuinjutsu. And so they travelled and stayed in inns and camped occasionally, using the money that the toad sannin earned from his books and what was left of the bounty Kakashi had provided them with.

"Absorb the chakra slowly," came Yugito's calming voice, "and stop just when you feel like a bucket about to overflow."

_Take Matatabi's advice, boy. I have no idea what the chakra feels like in your tenketsu, so you're the one who'll have to tell me when to stop. _

_Now, _the Narutos informed the bijuu, _stop._

He opened his eyes as he felt the rush of Kurama's chakra pause, "Yugito-sensei, this is as much as I can handle."

"Well?" The blond kunoichi, raising an eyebrow.

_How much is it? _Naruto Main conveyed the question to the Kyuubi.

_Almost two fifths, _the giant fox replied, paying rapt attention from within his cage, _not too bad. _

"Two fifths!" Naruto Main informed her proudly, sweat dripping down his neck. He flicked one of his tails in emphasis.

"Good work, Naruto-kun!" Jiraiya called from where he was leaning against the fence with Tsunade, "you'll be up to Yugito-chan's level in no time!"

"Two fifths spread among ten clones is good progress, but you can do better," the strict kunoichi told him, "as you've noticed, it was easy in the beginning, but it gets much harder once you go past half. I don't think it's actually possible for you to master all of it in under ten years even with your clones, but we're going to push you as hard as you can go."

"Why can't I use more clones?" Naruto whined, "I didn't get your explanation about chakra distribution at all!"

"Well, you only have _one _bijuu," Yugito informed him, "and usually, Kurama remains inside your real body because of the seal. Donating parts of his chakra to your clones is a concentration-heavy process. If you try to make more clones, you won't be able to split Kurama's chakra properly, and then the training will be wasted."

"Oh fine," Naruto huffed. He took a deep breath and allowed his tails to slowly disappear. Around him, the other Narutos vanished in puffs of chakra.

"It's still hard to believe that there actually exists someone who is succeeding in controlling the Kyuubi," Tsunade commented. She walked over and dropped a piece of cloth over his sweaty head, "back when Hashirama-jiji was alive, everything I ever heard about it was said in fearful voices. Not many people knew of Mito baa-sama's burden, but those who did felt sorry for her."

Naruto used the cloth to rub the training sweat off. Although he wasn't physically exerting himself, the sheer concentration and chakra involved made his pores leak as well as any taijutsu spar. "That's because Kurama wasn't cooperating," he explained, "everything's much easier when your bijuu actually likes you."

_I do _not _like you, boy. I am helping you to see my own ends. _

_Yeah right, _Naruto mentally retorted, _we're friends now whether you like it or not, fox._

"Did you know Shodai Hokage-sama well, Tsunade-sama?" Yugito questioned, standing up.

"Of course," Tsunade grinned, "he was my grandfather. He was also the one who taught me how to gamble."

"We've got him to blame, then," Jiraiya grumbled.

**Sai:**

"Anko-sensei held me up for a while, but I'm here now. What's this meeting for?" Sasuke asked, stepping into training ground seven. Sakura and Kakashi were already there, but his eyes immediately snapped to the third person. He was a pale boy with dark hair and darker eyes, and he smiled at Sasuke as if he had learned the motion from a book and practiced it in front of a mirror.

"Well," Kakashi began, gesturing towards the boy, "Hokage-sama has decided that while Naruto is gone with Jiraiya-san, we will be given a new addition. This is Sai. Sai, _say hello._" He gave the 'new addition' a one eyed smile. Hatake Kakashi knew _exactly _where the boy had come from, and was _perfectly _aware that Danzo was attempting to use him to keep an eye on Sasuke.

"Hello…handsome," the boy, Sai, told him, smiling the same bland smile.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"Just…bear with it," Sakura muttered between gritted teeth, "with this guy it's one extreme or the other…"

"Uchiha Sasuke." Came the stoic boy's only reply.

The two stared at each other for a while. Sasuke found Sai's full eye-contact slightly strange, but there was no way he was looking away first. In fact, it was an entire minute before both of them had to look away and blink from dry eyes.

"Well, I believe they'll get along just fine," Kakashi stated optimistically.

**Tenzou:**

"Tenzou…what happened?" Came a soft, female voice.

The sole mokuton user left in the world did not look up from where his head was buried in his arms. The desks of his anbu quarters were not very comfortable, but beggars could not be picky.

"Did Kagura hit you again?" Yugao asked, sitting down beside him.

Tenzou didn't look up, but he shifted his head in a nod. He wasn't upset because of his bruised cheek. In anbu that happened pretty much every day. He was upset at the fact that he had absolutely no luck with the opposite gender.

"Well, that's what happens when you court a girl right after her lover dies in service," Yugao sighed, "squad one of division two took a few hits on the last mission, you know."

She was replied with silence.

"Listen, why are you suddenly so determined to find a girl? Is Kakashi-senpai making fun of you again?" She asked, a hint of pity in her voice. Hatake Kakashi had a…special relationship with young operative Tenzou. Anyone who was familiar with the former members of division four would know that the Legendary Copy-Ninja had saved his young charge's life more times than most people could count, but that never stopped him from making sure he was teased thoroughly. Tenzou had been literally jumping around the day his senpai left anbu.

"You know, he doesn't have a lover either. Although, he probably could find one pretty easily…I'm not helping, am I?" The girl bit her lip and pushed her long ponytail over her shoulder to pat Tenzou's back, "you haven't answered my question."

"I'm the only mokuton user alive," he mumbled, finally looking up and revealing the black and purple bruise on his face.

"Yes, I've noticed."

"There aren't any more."

"Those two sentences mean the same thing, Tenzou-kun."

"It's my responsibility to pass on Shodai's legacy," the brown-haired man sighed, "but I'm in the anbu…I could be killed any day now!"

"Hmm, 'succeed in bed before death'. That certainly is a…noble…goal." Yugao said dryly.

"It's my duty," Tenzou said sadly.

"Listen, why not leave the anbu?" She suggested, "there are lots of chunin and jonin girls out there that would love to be with a nice boy like you."

"But I've always been in anbu," he stated bluntly, "I can't just _leave_."

"Sure you can. The average lifespan of an anbu operative is five years, and you've lasted far longer. You'd make a wonderful jonin," she urged, "go on, I'm sure Kakashi-senpai will take you through the retirement process if you ask nicely…"

**Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro:**

"Behind you!" Temari's voice yelled.

Kankuro leapt up just in time to avoid a rush of sand beneath him. He used the chakra strings attached to Crow to pull him forwards and out of the way as his sister swung her fan in his direction.

With her other brother safely out of the way, Temari's fan sent a blast of cutting wind towards the sand, watching as it drove away the attack. Kankuro used his chakra strings to twist in midair and land beside her.

"I'll distract the sand, send an aerial attack in from five o'clock once my winds reach the target," Temari instructed him quickly.

"Got it," her brother nodded sharply, fingers dancing nimbly as two of his puppets rose in the air.

A few meters ahead of them was Gaara. He watched his sibling plan with his arms crossed over red, Suna-style robes on top of black pants that reminded him of what he wore during his reign as Kazekage. After coming back to Suna, he had begun to also wear his country's hitai-ite around one arm, something that he had never done before. It felt strange, and yet he liked the slightly approving looks on the faces of the council members. He loved the fully approving looks on the faces of his siblings.

Sand rushed around him as the cutting winds came back of him, effectively shielding him from the blow. Unfortunately for Kankuro, he already knew about the aerial attack due to the one eye that was floating in the air behind his head.

The senbon needles that were launched at him from the puppet's mouth were stopped by another shield of sand. Before the two other Suna nin could think, tendrils were making their way to them.

"Temari!"

Kankuro's warning was too late as the tendrils of sand slowly wrapped themselves around his sister's ankle. Feeling a strange pressure, he looked down to see that he had been caught too.

"Well, at least we lasted a good fifteen minutes," his sister shrugged. She turned to their youngest brother with a grin, "you're amazing Gaara. You were only using the sand in your gourd, and yet you _still _beat us easily."

"You have improved as well," Gaara replied, "my sand techniques are at Kage level, you need not feel bad."

"Speak of kages, how is Baki-sensei doing these days?" Kankuro asked, stepping out of the sand to go stand by his siblings at the gates of the Suna training grounds. They had taken to training with Gaara at least once a week. Seeing as Sunagakure was located in the desert, the ground was covered in sand, but their youngest brother never used more than the quantity in his gourd, simply to even the playing field.

"He is busy," Gaara reported, "the council is pressuring him to hold the chunin exams in Suna this year as is tradition, and there is a lot of preparation to be done. Many nations are skeptical of Suna at the moment due to the incident last year with Konoha. This is a chance to reestablish ourselves, but the only other allied villages we can invite are Konoha and Kusa, who already know of it," he delved into his political talk.

Temari listened intently while Kankuro dazed off a little. Gaara had been spending a lot of time with their sensei recently, and although Kankuro was more interested by action, their sister took a liking to politics.

"We must find a way to invite genin from Kiri and Iwa to participate," he went on, "and maybe some of the much smaller villages such as Yugakure. With that, we can affirm that we have no ill will towards any other country and hopefully form some allies."

"That's pretty ambitious, Gaara," Temari commented. Although she had been born after the war, she knew of all the hatred that had gathered between Kaze and Tsuchi and Mizu.

"It has to be done sometime, so why not now?" Her brother asked rhetorically.

"You'd make a great Kazekage, you know," Kankuro commented, "with all your dreams of making friends with the rest of the world."

"If you do, you have to make me head of jonin," Temari informed him, "_and_ I get a place on the council."

"I want to be a jonin-sensei one day," Kankuro added, "training a bunch of cute kids…sounds really fun."

"I would like to teach as well sometimes," Gaara said suddenly. He didn't know why exactly he had needed to say that, but it had come out, and his siblings were suddenly giving him curious looks. They had long since picked up on his desire to become Kazekage since he didn't really attempt to hide it, but seeing their once-insane brother profess a desire to teach children was strange.

"I'd never pegged you for the teaching type, Gaara," Kankuro said lightly, "although it could be fun. We could have competitions to see whose students make chunin first."

Yes, it would be. Gaara thought back to the future, where he, as Kazekage, had been required to give a speech to the graduating students. At first, he had taken it like any other official duty, but seeing the young faces staring up at him curiously had made him think.

He didn't particularly desire only the strong students who had the potential to succeed him as Kazekage. He wanted a student like that little girl Mayuri whose eyes had lit up with wonder at every little thing her sensei said, or like young but serious Rai, whose only wish had been to make his jonin parents proud of him. They were leagues away from Kazekage, but they, too, would be shinobi of Suna.

But for any of that to be accomplished, he had to protect the land that he would one day rule. And it was nearing the time to go.

"Temari, Kankuro," he began suddenly, "sometime this year, I will be leaving Suna for a long while."

"Wait, why?" His sister questioned, biting her lip.

"I am going to learn how to control Shukaku's power," Gaara said firmly, "but it will be difficult because Shukaku hates me and will not talk to me. So I will find another Jinchuuriki and ask them to teach me."

"Gaara, no," Kankuro said immediately, "Shukaku is dangerous. You have no idea how happy we all are that he has stopped controlling you. Please don't go back to that..."

"I have to. I am using my chakra to hold her back, but she is getting more and more ground as time passes," that was true. Before the Akatsuki had extracted his Ichibi, he had actively used his chakra to block off the voice in his head.

Now, however, Shukaku was angry about the time seal. She wanted to burst out of her container and rush to find the one named Uchiha Madara and kill him for causing something like this to happen. It was getting more and more difficult to keep her locked up, and he finally realized that he could not keep up with it forever.

"We'll come with you," Temari said firmly, "we have to protect you. You're going to be Kazekage one day, after all."

"No, it's fine," Gaara told her softly, "I have other people who are protecting me. You need to stay here and become stronger and learn about politics so that you can be on my council one day. And you both must and become jonin. Chunin aren't allowed to have students, after all."

Temari was already a chunin due to her field promotion, and her two brothers had taken the chunin exams and passed six months ago. Baki had offered to make Gaara a jonin, but the red-haired boy had declined, knowing that the title came with various responsibilities that he would need to stay in Suna to perform.

"Alright," Kankuro said uncertainly, "but you had better come back soon."

**Sakura and Kakashi:**

Almost two years later, Sakura looked up from where she was collapsed, panting, on the grass. Every muscle in her body was dying a slow and painful death. She'd taken to taijutsu sparring with Lee sometimes when she wasn't successful in hiding from him, but _nothing _could _ever _compare to this. And _this, _she was required to do twice a day for training.

A meter away stood Kakashi. He wasn't panting to catch his breath or tired. However, he was slowly rubbing his jawbone.

"Ow," he commented, "that really hurt."

With that, Sakura burst into the widest and happiest grin she could manage. It had taken all the energy and willpower and determination she had in her possession and her accomplishment was miniscule compared to all the hits he had landed on her, but she had done it.

She had landed a punch on Kakashi of the Sharingan.

**ooooo**

**Note: Itachi knows who 'Madara' is; he helped him perform the massacre (in this timeline). He does _not _know that Madara is the Akatsuki's leader, the only people who are aware of that are Pein, Zetsu, and Konan to some extent. **

**So there's this fic I found called "The Next Type of Motion", and it details the humorous relationship between Kakashi and Yamato in the anbu. Just thought I'd give it a quick recommendation ^^**


	23. The Return to Konoha & the Tower of Ame

**Chapter 23 – Return to Konoha**

For the first time in ten years, Hatake Kakashi was only fifteen minutes late.

"I'm glad you're here, Kakashi-san," Sarutobi Hiruzen told him, "I apologize for sending you the red notice, but it was necessary. I have a council meeting in an hour and I couldn't afford for you to be too late."

"So just to confirm, there is _not _an invasion, large-scale kidnapping, attempt on your life, or assassination of the daimyo?" The masked jonin asked, one revealed eyebrow raised.

"Correct. Forgive an old man for using his resources to get you here on time," the Sandaime replied dryly. He set his fingers in a steeple and leaned his winkled chin against them, eyeing the jonin contemplatively, "and keep in mind that most of the things you have mentioned would go under the black notice, I would not scare you so far."

"I apologize, Sandaime-sama," Kakashi nodded. He had been called to the Hokage's office early that morning, and the message had been delivered by an anbu.

Due to the relative state of peace over Konoha, he had not been called to the Sandaime's office for anything other than a new mission for quite a while. The last two and a half years had been passive times where he had taken mission after simple mission with his team and one former Root anbu. Occasionally, he would be given an A or a rare S rank with some of the special jonin, but that had been the highlight.

Apart from that, he had spent his time discovering new ecchi authors, training Sakura and Sasuke, and happily being Gai and Shizune's third wheel. Letters from Jiraiya began to slow down to arriving every two months instead of every week since he still had no idea where the Akatsuki had disappeared to, but he wrote lengthily about Naruto's progress in chakra and Tsunade's progress in sobriety.

Now, he was again standing in the Hokage's office with its wooden shelves, centered desk, and large paned windows that looked out into the entirety of Konohagakure. It was a peaceful scene, and one that he was long used to. The old man sitting behind the desk simply added to the atmosphere with his serene power.

"So I suppose I should explain why I have called you here," Sarutobi Hiruzen began, "as you've probably noticed, I'm getting rather old."

"…and with age comes wisdom, Sandaime-sama," Kakashi added hastily, not liking where this was going.

"And further on begins senility," the Hokage continued, "and so you've probably already understood that I plan to retire sometime in the next few years."

The masked jonin kept his face carefully neutral while he struggled for arguments, "Sandaime-sama, all the other Hokage so far have died in battle," he suggested rather lamely.

"Which battle do you propose I go die in?" The Hokage asked, raising one eyebrow, "believe me, if I had been knowledgeable enough to save Minato from his fate, I would have gladly sacrificed myself to the Dead God rather than come out of retirement."

Kakashi stood at a loss for words, unable to think of any other arguments, "and…you have called me here?" He asked, dreading his Hokage's next words.

"Indeed," the Sandaime nodded serenely, "Hatake Kakashi, you have proven to be a loyal and worthy shinobi of Konoha. Many believe that you are an excellent candidate for the position of Hokage, and I am inclined to agree. How would you feel if I put you forth as my choice as successor during the council's vote?" He leaned forward and put forth a serious look at the man standing before him.

"With all due respect, Hokage-sama," Kakashi began, "I do not think the position is right for me. Although I pride myself in my abilities as a shinobi, I do not think I would be able to handle politics and international relations with the same skill." Although his intelligence was well-known, his habit of being late was even more popular, and that was not a good trait in a country's leader.

"It would not have to happen right away," the Sandaime frowned slightly, "I named Minato as my successor years before he became the Yondaime. I am perfectly willing to give you as much time as you need to make this decision, and you will have the full support of my council to aid you in the politics. All I ask is that you consider this proposal."

Kakashi thought about it deeply. For the next two years at least, there was no way he was going to step up as Hokage. He had to help the Jinchuuriki stop the trigger. They had already told so few other people, and could not afford to _not _use their help. After that…well, the paperwork would be a nightmare. It wasn't preferable, but until they found another candidate…then again, according to Naruto, Tsunade had become the Godaime. All he needed to do was appease the Sandaime until she stepped up.

"Sandaime-sama, I would be happy to be named as an alternative successor in case there is no one more qualified," he said seriously, "will you be able to continue as Hokage for the next two years, at least?"

"Yes, I believe so," he raised an eyebrow and removed his pipe to blow out another small cloud of smoke, "are you thinking of any other candidates?"

"No," Kakashi lied, "but one may come up, and if so I will step down."

"That is fair," Hiruzen sighed, "I only wish to leave my position in secure hands when I retire. You are dismissed, Hatake Kakashi."

ooooo

Two pairs of eyes watched Senju Tsunade closely as she picked up her very first cup of sake in over two years.

The delicate white cup was handled carefully in her young fingers, balanced on the tips. She seemed to look at it for a while, relishing the sight of the clear liquid. She even sloshed it around in the cup, smiling at the heavenly sound that it made against the clay of the cup.

She then threw it in Jiraiya's face.

The toad sage reached up quickly to shield himself, bringing both arms in front of his face so that the sake spilled over his sleeves and stained them. He slowly moved his arms from his face to see his Tsunade-hime glaring at him with arms crossed over her chest.

"Tsunade-hime, why-" He began.

"You fool!" His former teammate yelled, "you should know better than to try and put sleeping pills in my drink! I trained one of the foremost poison specialists in the five greater countries! You would think I'd know if there was something else in what I consume!"

"Sorry, Tsunade baa-chan," Naruto wailed, giving her the widest eyes he could manage.

"That look only worked when you were thirteen, Naru-kun," Tsunade said gruffly. Seeing as she looked away, Naruto figured it might still have _some _effect.

The slug sannin sighed, "trying to drug me and forcibly drag me into Konoha? Was this really your plan?" She asked dryly.

Two pairs of eyes looked at her pleadingly. She carefully avoided Naruto's blue ones which – for some reason – had a devastating effect on her. Jiraiya's, on the other hand, had _never_ been effective, and a grown man attempting puppy eyes was just weird.

"We just…really want you to come back," Naruto said softly.

"Couldn't find your twenty thousand ryo?" She asked, hands on her hips.

"I'll give you twenty thousand ryo if you come back to Konoha, baa-chan," Naruto said softly. He couldn't care less about the bet. What he cared about was the fact that his Godaime still hadn't shown any interest in coming back.

_Kurama, _he moaned, _shouldn't the resilience of time be working in my favor here? I mean, she stopped hitting me for calling her 'baa-chan' within two months! That's practically a declaration of love coming from her!_

_The relationship between you and that woman was strong enough to be resilient, _Kurama replied, _personalities and feelings are important parts of time, and they will struggle to survive though any changes. _

_But then why isn't she agreeing to be Hokage? _He complained, _isn't that important too?_

_Remember, you invaded the snake's hideout and foiled his invasion plans, so the Hokage is still alive, _Kurama reminded him, _there is no reason for her to suddenly decide to take his place, especially if she was not predisposed. _

Naruto frowned, but it was true. He was cursing himself repeatedly for having involved himself with Orochimaru, because it was slowly robbing him of any advantage of future knowledge that he had. Know the snake sannin was an Akatsuki member of all things. However, he couldn't have simply allowed the Sandaime to die…

"Listen, Naruto," Tsunade began, "there's no way I'm going to become Hokage _just _because you're telling me to, but I've decided to do this one more time for you, and you had better be damn grateful," she gruffly reached around her neck and unclasped the necklace that she had worn for so long, holding up the blue crystal.

"Do you know what this necklace is?" She asked sternly, a serious look in her eyes. Beside him, Jiraiya stiffened.

"Yeah, it's the Shodai's necklace. You asked me that to confirm the time seal explanation, and in the future you gave it to me when I mastered the Rasengan," he replied. She'd never given it to him upon their meeting this time, but she hadn't exactly had any reason to.

Hearing that, she sighed, "well, I suppose it's some sort of fate, then. That resilience of time, or whatever you call it. Did I ever tell you that it was cursed?"

At this, Naruto frowned, "no…it helped me control the Kyuubi's chakra."

"Well it's also cursed. Two other people that I knew died when I gave them this necklace," she explained, "how long did you survive while wearing it?"

"Tsunade-hime, it's not cursed…" Jiraiya tried, but she wasn't paying any attention to him.

"Maybe five years…" Naruto trailed, trying to remember how long it had been, "I accidently broke it during my fight with Pein when Kyuubi came out."

"Take it."

"Eh?"

She thrust the necklace at him, "I've…done this before, so I don't know any other way to do it."

Naruto took the blue crystal from her, puzzled, "I don't understand, Tsunade baa-chan…"

She looked at him with a strange look in her brown eyes, "I've been watching you train for the past two years, and there is _no one _I know who is more idiotic, persistent, stubborn, and utterly hard working than you are," she said it in a way that made Naruto unsure if he was being complimented or insulted, "becoming the Hokage is a silly goal. The Hokage is just a person behind a desk who has to do lots of paperwork and look pretty to the daimyo. The Hokage has to put up with the idiocies of the council and the shinobi, and manage all that work without much time off. The Hokage isn't allowed inside bars or gambling houses because he has to keep up his image," she sighed.

Jiraiya and Naruto stared, not understanding her at all.

"But he also has to look after his people as if they were family," she continued in the same gruff tone, "and protect his country from anything that comes its way. So it's a silly goal. A really stupid goal that no one should have. But if it's your goal and you really want that, then I won't say no," she finished, looking awkwardly at the wall.

For a moment, Naruto simply stared at her, holding the necklace in one hand. Then he slowly reached up and slipped it around his neck, suddenly realizing what was happening.

"Thank you, Tsunade baa-chan," he said quietly, "I'll be the best Hokage there ever was."

"Wait, I do not understand," Yugito said from where she was standing watch near the dirty window of the rest-stop near Konohagakure they were all sitting in, "Tsunade-sama, will you become the Hokage of your village?"

"She's going to return to Konoha," Naruto told her, "but she's not going to become Hokage right away, and I didn't really care about that bet much anyway. Although she's going to be on the list for Godaime once Sandaime-jiji retires."

"That's actually what I'm counting on," the slug sannin muttered, "that old man is the healthiest sixty-year-old I've ever met. I mean, the Tsuchikage's still going well into his eighties, so I expect Hiruzen-sensei to keep that damn hat on for the next ten years at least by which time I can hand it straight to Naruto…"

ooooo

The four of them reached the gates of Konoha later that morning. The weather was bright and wonderful after the previous months of rain that they had thankfully been out of the country for, and the path down to the gates of Konohagakure was almost serene. The forest that surrounded the village was full and green, shielding the hidden village with kilometers of Hi no Kuni's famous leaves.

They had decided that Nii Yugito would have to take off her hitai-ite for a while and stay in Konoha with Tsunade. This was partly because Jiraiya had recently received some rather…disturbing news, and they had to be prepared to face anything. While in Konoha, Yugito would pretend to be Tsunade's new student that she had picked up from Ta. As long as the other kunoichi didn't draw attention to herself, she would be fine.

The first people that saw them were the two chunin Izumo and Kotetsu, both sitting in their small cabin near the entrance. They took one look at Naruto and rushed out of the cabin to smile and wave.

"Izumo-san! Kotetsu-san!" Naruto called, running the rest of the way while Jiraiya smiled fondly.

"There's been a party waiting for you," Kotetsu informed him, pointing over to the fence where four figures were standing. Jiraiya had already sent one of his toads to inform Kakashi of their arrival.

"Naruto!" A rush of pink bounded into him. Her grip was _far _stronger than he remembered.

"S-Sakura-chan," he winced, trying not to protest as his ribcage creaked.

She let go of him to hold him at arm's length and examine him, "well, you've grown taller, but you're not _too _much taller than me so I can forgive you for that," she informed him seriously. She looked over the same messy blond hair, sunwashed skin, and a slightly different orange and black jumpsuit, and nodded in approval.

Behind him, Jiraiya walked up and gave the pink haired girl a grin, "don't I get a hug too, _Sakura-chan?_" He asked, pretending to be hurt.

Sakura stuck her tongue out at him, "_Ero-Sennin_."

"Oi! I knew that name would come bite me one day…" the toad sage rubbed his head.

Naruto took the time to examine Sakura, and was surprised at what he saw. He had almost gotten used to her long pink hair, and assumed that since the incident in the forest had never happened, she would continue to grow it out. But for some reason, she'd cut it all off and wore it even shorter, pink strands barely coming down to her chin. On one side, two red clips pinned it out of her famously large forehead which she had somehow grown into quite well. Over her normal kunoichi gear that showed off lean arms, she was now wearing a green, chunin flak jacket, and her belt carried one rather small kunai pouch.

"Your hair…it's short," he observed bluntly.

"Kakashi-sensei told me that it would just get in the way when I fought," she explained, "so I figured that I could do without it.

"Welcome back, dobe," came another voice behind her, "but if you try to hug me again, I _will not _show mercy".

Sasuke was not wearing a flak jacket, even though Naruto guessed he probably _was _a chunin. Instead, he seemed to maintain a style similar to his Uchiha clan clothing except with longer black pants. Apart from being quite a bit taller, he now wore his hitai-ite around one arm, probably to prevent it from interfering with his eyes in any way. The strangest thing about _him_ was his expression, which carried a slightly patronizing hint of a smile.

"Like I'd want to hug you, teme!" Naruto yelled, although his voice was playful. His two teammates were a sight for sore eyes.

"Tsunade-sama!" The third person, Shizune, ran over to her former shishou. The other kunoichi was still hesitating with one foot over the border of Konohagakure.

"In or out, ma'am," Izumo called, watching her with humor in his eyes.

"Shut it," she snapped, "I'm trying to have a _moment._" She took a deep breath, before placing her foot firmly on Konoha soil.

One she entered, Shizune bowed deeply.

"Thank you for coming back, Tsunade-sama! I will show you what I've done with everything you've taught me!"

"Buhi!"

"There's no need for that, Shizune," the slug sannin reached over and pulled her old student upright, "I'm looking forward to hearing all about it, 'youngest iryounin council member in fifty years'."

Shizune blushed with the praise, and Tonton leapt out of her arms to nuzzle her owner.

"Jiraiya-san," Kakashi strode over and watched the toad sannin expectantly, holding one hand out, "you promised before you left, whichever one you're currently writing."

The other man sighed and reached into one pocket to pull out another orange book, brand new and shining, "two months before official release, Kakashi-kun. But don't start reading it until later, I have some things to discuss with you," he turned to see Shizune, "you too, Shizune-chan."

"M-me?" The dark haired kunoichi frowned, "oh, it's about _that._"

"About what?" Sasuke picked up.

"Shizune-san is going to feature in Ero-Sennin's newest book!" Naruto chirped. The last thing he wanted was for Sasuke to become involved in their plan, especially when his eyes seemed to be a highly prized commodity among s-class missing-nin.

"Alright, never mind. I don't want to know," the Uchiha boy withdrew immediately, ignoring the iryounin's protests and Sakura's gasps. He turned toward the last member of the group, who was standing silently behind Tsunade, "who are you?"

"Oh," Jiraiya turned around to wave at the other blond woman, "this is Yugito from Ta no Kuni. She's here as Tsunade's temporary student," he explained, "hime was feeling lonely without her student and decided to start collecting them". They had all agreed that since Yugito was a common name, it would not be necessary to cover it up. Luckily, she also hadn't been interacting frequently with the higher-ups of Kumo, so as long as her hitai-ite was off, there was no need for a strong henge while she was in Hi no Kuni.

"It's nice to meet you, Yugito-san," Sakura spoke up, deciding to be polite. Sasuke simply nodded.

Shizune and Kakashi, who had been informed that Yugito would be coming with them, were unsurprised.

"Alright, then. Sakura, Sasuke, off with you two. Make sure you train well for the _event _tomorrow," Kakashi instructed, "Naruto will join you after we discuss something at my apartment."

"Sensei! He just got back!" Sakura whined.

"Ch. Take your time, dobe," Sasuke added, although a small smile played at his lips.

"Mou…it should only take an hour at most. He'll be right there," their sensei told them with his eye crinkled in a smile.

"Well…hurry back, Naruto," Sakura called, "we have some catching up and planning to do."

The walk back to the apartment was filled with chatter. Tsunade was hurriedly catching up with Shizune, Kakashi was pestering Jiraiya about his latest book, and Naruto was happily informing 'Yugito nee-chan' about Konoha's culture. He had just gotten to 'explaining' that ramen was their national food when they reached the familiar little place that he hadn't stepped into for years.

His sensei retrieved the key from his pocket and pushed the door open, and Naruto breathed in the scent of a place he had left for years. Kakashi's apartment – his home – did not have a strong homely smell. In fact, before he had moved in, there had barely been an identifying scent at all. But now he could faintly catch the scent of the ramen that was probably still in his old room, and the milk that was probably still the only thing in the fridge.

"Now before you all get sentimental," Jiraiya interrupted, "I have something I want to tell you," his face was suddenly serious, "there's a reason I wanted to return right away once we got into Hi no Kuni." He sat down carefully on the couch and moved over to make room for Kakashi. Tsunade helped herself to the table along with Naruto. Yugito and Shizune remained standing.

"Why? The last letter you sent was almost three months ago," Kakashi commented, fingers itching to go near the pocket where his new book was, "I thought everything was going fine. In fact, I didn't think Naruto was going to come back permanently for many months, closer to the trigger."

"Well, we've found out about something that doesn't seem like good news," Tsunade added, "Itachi and Kisame have been gone for years, and we've located them. One of the bounty hunter-nin that Jiraiya has been keeping in touch with near the western borders of Hi no Kuni says that they were spotted leaving Amegakure, heading towards Kawa."

There was silence for a while as the six of them contemplated it.

"Well, the latest letter from Gaara states that he, Utakata, and B are currently in Kawa no Kuni, near Tanigakure," Kakashi stated, "they've been staying there for a while since it's close to Suna and Gaara doesn't want to travel too far away while he trains. Kisame is definitely no match for _three _Jinchuuriki, and if need be, we can expose Itachi."

"Well, I think we should warn them to be wary," Jiraiya said seriously, "Ame is one of the places where I've _never _been able to get contacts. No one enters or exits without special clearance, and the people inside seem ridiculously loyal to their leader," he explained, "the fact that there were there so for long is worrying."

"Um…why is it bad that they were in Ame for so long?" Shizune spoke up. Despite her knowledge of the time situation, she wasn't up to date on what was happening with the Akatsuki.

"Because Nagato, the one known as Pein, is currently the leader of Ame," the toad sannin told her, "and we don't know what they've been doing in there. This _does _seem like a good time to act since they're walking right towards us, but we need to be excessively careful."

"Tsunade-sama and I were able to take down an Akatsuki pair fairly quickly," Yugito spoke up, "it should be no problem for the carriers of the Ichibi, Rokubi, and Hachibi."

"Yes, but Kisame and Itachi are much stronger," Kakashi explained, "we can expect them to defeat Kisame since Naruto informs me that he is a chakra-intensive fighter, but Itachi is on a completely different level. He was able to slaughter all the members of one of Konoha's most powerful clans at the age of eleven, and unlike me, he can wield the full power of the Mangekyou Sharingan. One thing that I've noticed about you high-chakra types is that you're not very good with genjutsu, so sending Jinchuuriki after him may not be ideal."

"And we can't kill him," Naruto spoke up, "because he secretly still loves Sasuke, and he was ordered to massacre his clan and did it to obey his village. In the future, when Sasuke killed his brother, his next goal was to destroy Konoha for putting his brother through what they did. I don't want to kill the only family my friend has left."

"And there he goes with his friendship speeches," Tsunade grumbled. However, she had to admit that it was one of the reasons that she had originally been drawn to the boy.

"That makes our job both harder and easier in some ways," Jiraiya commented, "but I will tell them to avoid Itachi at all costs," he turned to Naruto, "are you sure Kisame doesn't have some tragic sob story too?"

"Nah, you can kill him," Naruto permitted, "I think he's part shark, though. If that's a sob story."

"No no no, sob stories are much more serious," Kakashi said lightly, trying to break out of the gloom, "like Sasuke-kun's entire clan dying, or you being shunned by the village, or Sakura-chan having a tragically large forehead."

"I think we should get back on topic," Yugito spoke up, "I agree with sending our Jinchuuriki team after them. One of them can distract Uchiha Itachi using non-violent means, and the other two can go after Kisame. Once his partner is gone, the Uchiha might be more open to doing something like…leaving the Akatsuki, since we know he doesn't really want to be there."

"Well, I don't know about him leaving the Akatsuki, but it sounds like a plan," Kakashi stated, "once this is over, there won't be any other Akatsuki members to deal with apart from Pein, Konan, and that Tobi person."

"And there's this Aloe Vera plant guy too," Naruto protested, "but…he hasn't really done anything. He just came in the middle of a battle to...watch, I think."

"Tobi is another anomaly," Jiraiya interrupted, "the man in the orange mask was seen travelling with Orochimaru, but he hasn't been spotted since. Are you _sure_ he's an Akatsuki member? I'd never heard of him before, so maybe he was just teaming up with Orochimaru…"

"He was a member," Naruto confirmed, "I've fought him before when Orochimaru wasn't a member, but all he did was run away. We didn't manage to land a single attack on him, though, so he's strong."

"Well, we can't worry about him for now," Kakashi decided, "he may be in Ame as well. After we take out Kisame and somehow deal with Itachi to make sure that he will not be sent after us, we can lay low for a while and plan how to destroy the trigger next year. If we time it perfectly, then we will only need to hold off this Uchiha Madara person for a week at most."

"I was thinking of an infiltration into Ame," Jiraiya suggested, "just to get a brief layout of the village and to find out where Nagato's real body is located."

"…that's how you died last time, Ero-Sennin," Naruto pointed out, "and I'm not letting you go this time around."

Tsunade gave her teammate a worried look and crossed her arms.

"I can perform covert operations," Yugito spoke up, "if you need someone to infiltrate this village to find the one who holds the Rinnegan, I will help."

"There _is _no 'infiltrating' Ame," the blond boy stressed, "the moment we step inside, he will know about us whether we like it or not. We may as well just plan an invasion. Ame's troops are not fully established yet, and a lot of the citizens are civilians. Fukusaku-jiji said that Ero-Sennin was able to fight Pein and Konan without being disturbed by any other powerful Ame shinobi."

"An invasion, eh?" Tsunade raised an eyebrow, "it should be possible. We could send Yugito, Kakashi and one other in covertly to locate this Nagato's real body while the rest of us distract and defeat his six paths of Pein and any other forces he may have within Ame."

"Planning an invasion sounds doable," Kakashi nodded, "if I have so many strong shinobi to work with, then all I need is a brief village map so that we can head directly to where this Pein is."

"I'm worried," Naruto frowned and crossed his arms, "about Itachi and Kisame being in Ame for so long…something's not right."

"Cheer up, Naruto-kun," Jiraiya told him, "no matter how you look at it, we have the advantage right now. We have five bijuu on our side while they only have four, and we've taken out most of their resources. After this mission, just remain here in Konoha and train hard to prepare for our strike against the trigger."

"What about Orochimaru? Is he in Ame too?" Kakashi questioned. He shifted on his seal as his fingers settled for simply laying on top of the book in his pocket. His desperation was beginning to show.

"No, I still haven't heard a word about him. He's vanished completely," Jiraiya informed him regretfully.

"This…never happened originally," Naruto said, biting his lip, "its all because of our invasion into Orochimaru's hideout. We've changed so many things that my knowledge is slowly becoming useless…"

"Don't stress yourself out, kid," the toad sannin tried to console him.

"How are Gaara and Utakata doing, then?" Kakashi asked, "B hasn't been sending us any letters since he left Kumo. I think he's been avoiding the main villages."

"He'd better be avoiding them. He said he was _near _Tani, but he's not going to risk actually going inside. The Raikage's going to have a heart attack any day now," Jiraiya commented, "Gaara sent me an update a few months ago. He is still unable to control Shukaku, but B is teaching him how to continue to block the bijuu's intrusion into his mind. Utakata can finally perform some of his suiton jutsu with Saiken's chakra, which is pretty impressive considering he's rather low-reserve for a Jinchuuriki."

"And you, Naruto?" Kakashi went on, looking towards his student.

"I can fully control up to half of Kurama's chakra," Naruto stated proudly, "Yugito-sensei has been helping me by making me slowly increase the amount by a little bit more every week."

"That's amazing," Shizune admitted, looking at the blond boy with admiration, "you've improved, Naruto-kun."

"When I was a child, such a thing like controlling the Kyuubi would never have been thought possible," Tsunade sighed, "the next generation will always surpass the previous one. It is one of the never-ending cycles in life."

"Is it possible for you to learn how to control the rest?" the other jonin asked. He, too, was impressed at his student's progress, but there was still half to go.

"Probably not," Naruto frowned, "Yugito-sensei says that it gets harder as it goes on. It took her almost fifteen years to train with Matatabi, and B trained with Gyuki's chakra for almost twenty."

"Half should be enough," Jiraiya added, "this is the Kyuubi we're talking about. Well," he stood up to stretch, "that's all the information I needed to rely. Have fun with that book, Kakashi-kun. I'm going to go see how the bathhouses have been fairing without my presence…"

Tsunade looked like she was going say – or _hit _– something, but wisely refrained. Instead, she turned towards Shizune and Yugito, "we should get a room somewhere. Shizune, are you staying anywhere permanent right now?"

"I've rented an apartment, Tsunade-sama," the dark-haired medic replied, "my council position pays well. You and Yugito-senpai can stay with me for as long as you like."

"Good. We're set, then Yugito," Tsunade gave the other blond woman a smile, "Shizune cooks like a goddess."

ooooo

Many kilometers southwest of Konoha, three figures were gathered in the bank of a small river, seated on the sandy soil just beyond sparse trees. They were in Kawa no Kuni, the country of rivers that served as an intermediary between Kaze's deserts and Hi's forests.

"One more time, Gaara," came Utakata's soft but stern voice, "try it one more time, and we'll finish for today."

"Yeah, kono yaro. Gotta learn, eh," B added, "taming the sand monster!"

Gaara gritted his teeth and delved into his mind once again. He felt the familiar feeling of being pushed though a vacuum as he was lead to the sealed dimension within him that contained his bijuu.

He was met with a giant wall of stand that stood in the way; his own wall. When he had described it to Utakata, the man had looked at him worriedly and mentioned that it was similar to the wall he had put up in his own mind; the one that had almost lead to his death. But Gaara had been maintaining this wall for years, slowly feeding it with chakra. It was necessary, because a monster lay behind it.

He took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down. If Shukaku took over, the B and Utakata would be able to contain her. They could simply beat the demon tanuki down until she was exhausted enough for Gaara to take back control. There was nothing to worry about.

With that in mind, he raised one arm and began to take down a small section of the wall, just enough to be able to talk to the demon. The very top of the sand structure slowly slid down, thinning more and more until…

The moment there was an opening, he found a demonic, green eye glaring back at him, and growling noises filled his mind. The pressure against the wall grew as Shukaku attempted to make use of her temporary weakness.

"Shukaku!" Gaara said loudly, using every bit of the commanding voice he had perfected during his reign as Kazekage, "I am here to speak with you."

"You…dare….deny me…blood?" Was the growled reply.

"If you help me, we can take down Madar-"

"YOU dare…deny ME…blood?"

The pressure against the wall became too much for him to handle, and he had no choice but to push the sand back up, covering the momentary hole in the wall. Shukaku's growls filled the small space, slowly ebbing into the distance as the last of the wall was fully rebuilt, able to block out sound. When he had been younger, before the wall had been up, this was where Shukaku would whisper to him to kill, and give her blood. She whispered that she was his Mother and that his own goal was to serve her and do her bidding.

He exited the sealed dimension with a deep frown.

"Well," Utakata stated, seeing his disappointed look, "there's always tomorrow, Gaara-kun. Maybe if we give her enough time, she'll eventually realize that working with you is the only way."

"Yeah. Shukaku's being silly, baka yaro," B commented.

Gaara was not nearly as satisfied. Shukaku was slowly gaining ground in his mind. When he had locked her up before, she had decided to wait until his body died naturally, since that amount of time was mere seconds for a bijuu, a creature of pure chakra. He had at least been able to sleep again. Now that she had a target, she was fully focused on taking over, fighting without pause and slowly growing in annoyance and desperation as the months passed by.

He could no longer sleep, because the moment he let his guard down, the wall would crumble.

His thoughts were disrupted by a puff of chakra appearing nearby. The three Jinchuuriki looked to the side quickly as the smoke cleared to reveal a small, red toad.

"Kousuke…right?" Gaara asked the toad, "do you have a message for us?" he held out one hand.

"Glad to see _someone _can get my name right," the toad grumbled. He opened his mouth and spat out a folded piece of paper, "from Jiraiya."

"Thank you, Kousake," Gaara stated graciously, "please stay here with us, in case we need to contact Jiraiya-san again. Last time I had to send a letter through one of the villages, and I suspect it took months to reach him."

"Sure," the toad croaked, settling down on its back feet.

"Why is the toad sage contacting us?" Utakata peered over Gaara's shoulder to read the letter.

"It seems that they have located Akatsuki members Kisame and Itachi heading to the northern borders of Kawa," Gaara read, "we're requested to take out Kisame."

"Leave him to me," B exclaimed, taking the letter and reading it over, "He'll be defeated again by Killer B!"

"I will not be of much help in a fight," Gaara announced, "you both are probably aware that I cannot use too much chakra, or I risk allowing Shukaku to take over."

"You can still help without fighting," Utakata said warmly. Between B's brashness and Gaara's utter impassiveness, he had been trying to serve as a connecter. Learning how to deal with B had been long but rewarding; despite his intimidating looks, the Kumo nin was loyal and friendly. Gaara had come to them a year ago, asking them to teach him control. Having leant everything he could from B, Utakata was willing to pass on the knowledge.

However, it seemed that simply teaching him to block the bijuu would take up all their time.

"You want me to distract this Uchiha Itachi?" he asked, "but will that not be even riskier? After all, he is part of an organization that collects bijuu, and is stronger than his partner"

"Well, they'll probably stay in a civilized area," the other Jinchuuriki explained, "and you can easily slip away when things get too heated."

"Hmm," the red-haired boy thought about it silently. It was true that he could escape using his sand at the first sign of danger.

"It's done, let's get this battle won!" B decided.

"Alright," Utakata took out a worn map from his travel pack, "assuming that they'll take the most direct route into Kawa," he trailed his finger across the map, "they should be at this small village sometime soon and we can lay in wait…"

ooooo

"Alright alright I'm here," Naruto stated as he entered the familiar grass of training ground seven, "what's this 'event' that you mentioned happening tomorrow?"

"Sensei's going to give us a bell test tomorrow," Sasuke informed him, "and if we succeed, he's promised me that he'll tell us about Nohara Rin and how he got his Mangekyou," he narrowed his eyes, "so if _either _of you do _anything _to mess up this opportunity…I will ask Anko-sensei to _spend some time _with you."

"Eh? Why Anko-sensei?" Naruto asked, confused.

"Because she's very…creative," Sasuke left it hanging. Sakura seemed to know exactly what he meant, because she gulped loudly.

"I-it's ok, S-Sasuke-kun! We'll definitely succeed," she held her hands up, "we have an entire day to plan and discuss our new jutsu and abilities."

"Alright," Naruto settled down on the grass and patted the ground for them to join him, "tell me everything you've learned over the past few years. I want to know _everything._"

Sakura sat down next to him and smiled, "you've changed a lot, Naruto," she informed him, "it's in the way you talk, I think."

"Eh? Really?" Naruto grinned sheepishly.

"Ch. Still a dobe," Sasuke said, making the term sound somewhat endearing, "I'll go first, then," he settled down cross legged opposite from his two teammates.

"Sensei taught me Chidori during the chunin exams, and a year ago he declared me proficient enough with raiton jutsu to learn his enhanced version, Raikiri. I will not be able to use either of these tomorrow, because they are both assassination techniques," he smirked, "however, I've recently been working on a new form of the Chidori from sensei's lessons on chakra manipulation, and I haven't told him about it yet because I wanted to keep it a surprise."

"What does it do?" Sakura asked.

"Well," he turned to Naruto, "Chidori is a hand-held jutsu like your rasengan, but I've developed it so that the lightning is concentrated enough to throw. The good thing is, its power decreases with the distance of the throw."

"Why is that a good thing?" Naruto tilted his head, confused, "doesn't that make it weaker?"

"Because it's no longer lethal as long as I get the distance right. However, Kakashi-sensei will mistake it for the Chidori, which he's told me never to use on a friend because it's meant to kill. So I can use my version to shock him," he explained.

"That's…cruel," Naruto said with a wide grin, "just the sort of thing we need to get a hand up on someone like sensei."

"Exactly," Sasuke continued, "I've also learned more katon jutsu from my clan's scrolls that sensei doesn't know about, and my chakra reserves are large enough to use them without risking tiring myself."

"And aren't you going to tell him what you've been doing with Anko-sensei?" Sakura encouraged.

"Of course," the Uchiha boy crossed his arms, "I've been training with my summoning contract for the White Snakes. I can even summon Manda, although that won't be wise in the middle of the training grounds. But for this fight, I can be our main genjutsu specialist."

"Genjutsu?" Naruto raised his eyebrows. He didn't remember Sasuke having any genjutsu teachers…then again, he hadn't had any genjutsu teachers in the future either, and he was still proficient with it.

"It comes naturally to those who carry the Sharingan, and I've trained with it," Sasuke explained airily, "I've overpowered Kurenai-sensei once, and she's one of the most famous genjutsu users without a Sharingan. Unless Kakashi-sensei uses his Mangekyou – and he won't, of course – my Sharingan is more powerful, and both my eyes have the complete three tomoe. Unlike Sakura's, my genjutsu should take a while for him for dispel."

"I see…" Naruto trailed.

"I'll go next," Sakura offered cheerfully, "I'm going to be our taijutsu specialist, because I know Kashi-sensei's style _really _well, and he's long since stopped holding back in our spars. Over the last few years, I've sparred with people who have really different styles, like sensei and Hinata-chan and Lee, so I've been developing my own style," she grinned.

"Sensei's also been training me in speed and agility, which I lacked before, and I still have more stamina than he does. I can tire him out physically so that he's more susceptible to attacks. My genjutsu is completely useless on him though. I tried once, and he just stared at me," she finished, "I've also been picking up some iryou-ninjutsu from Ino. I don't know too much, but she says I'm a natural because of my chakra control so I'm trying to learn more from the scrolls I find at the hospital. When Naruto comes back bloody and bruised, I can help him out with superficial wounds."

"Oi! Why do you assume that?" Naruto whined, "I've improved too!"

"Let's hear it, dobe," Sasuke raised an eyebrow, "I've heard that you became a sage?"

"Yeah!" Naruto exclaimed, happy to boast after hearing how much his teammates had improved, "I can send two clones to Mount Myoboku to collect natural energy so that I don't need to sit still during our fight. Sage mode gives me enhanced senses and I can use lots of different types of rasengan."

"So you've learned how to make bigger blue balls?" Sasuke asked dryly.

"They're strong!" Naruto protested, "I also have this other jutsu…but I can't use it on sensei because it's really damaging," he supposed rasenshuriken would have to be demonstrated another time.

"Anything else we can use?" Sakura asked.

Naruto thought about it. It was clear that he wasn't allowed to use Kurama's chakra in any way, but without it and rasenshuriken, his repertoire was not that large.

"I can dispel genjutsu," he muttered, "oh! And I can make over a thousand kage bunshin!"

"A…thousand?" Sakura gasped.

"Yeah! They make great cannon fodder," Naruto told her happily, "and they can back you up with taijutsu. We can also use them to deliver messages to each other, or to scout the area and find sensei's location."

"Hmm, that's useful," Sasuke commented.

"Ero-Sennin's been teaching me fuuinjutsu too," he continued, "so I can draw up paper bombs with any blast radius, and I think I can reverse-summon his ninken if he calls them."

Sakura nodded, "that sounds good. Leave the planning to me. Tomorrow, we're going to surpass Kakashi of the Sharingan."

Naruto grinned, "you still haven't got me caught up on what's happened while I was away. How are the other rookies and bushier-brow sensei's team?"

"There aren't any genin among our graduating class," Sasuke began, "and Shikamaru is a jonin, along with the three on Gai's team. I was promoted to jonin three months ago, but there haven't been any entrance-level A ranks for me to lead yet. Although I _should _have been promoted long ago, because I could beat Gai-sensei's Hyuga boy easily."

"He and Neji have…gotten into a few skirmishes," Sakura told him sheepishly, "it's generally wise to make sure they're not in the same room together. Honestly, making jonin at age fifteen is really good, Neji's sixteen already so technically you made it younger than him," she told Sasuke.

"I was too busy training to bother with too many missions to impress the promotions people," the Uchiha boy muttered.

"Well, I'm probably not going to be promoted this term. I've only done one A-rank, and it was a pretty low-level one with Kurenai-sensei and Izumo-senpai and Kotetsu-senpai," Sakura scratched her head in though, "other than that, Hinata-chan is trying to become a jonin because she really wants to teach children. Tenten-san and Neji-san are considering applying for anbu for a few years to gain experience before they settle down as a jonin, but Gai-sensei is trying to discourage them for some reason. I think it has something to do with Kashi-sensei, actually."

Naruto had a general idea of his reasoning.

"Ino tells me that her sensei is going to propose to his lover," she went on, "but apparently he's a real worrier and it'll probably take a while. I think it's really sweet though-"

"On more interesting and useful topics," Sasuke interrupted, "we received a replacement for you who should be coming by sometime soon because he wants to meet you. A former anbu named Sai. Now that you're here, he'll probably be sent back to the anbu soon," he looked strangely relieved.

"He's rather…weird at first," Sakura warned him, "apparently they trained the emotions out of him while in the anbu. That alone makes me side with Gai-sensei…"

"But he was in some special part of anbu," the Uchiha boy added, "Kakashi-sensei is nothing like that and he spent _years _in there. I'm thinking about spending some time in anbu as well, after I find and kill my brother."

Both his teammates winced at the casual way he spoke of it.

"Erm, Sai's very nice when you get used to him," Sakura continued.

"I'll get used to him when he stops calling me 'handsome'…"

"Ah, he's here," Sakura stood up to wave over the pale figure who had just approached the edge of the training grounds.

Naruto turned around, grinning when he saw Sai walking over. The strange boy had long since become one of his precious people, even though they had a rough start. He just had to keep in mind that Sai wasn't _really _trying to hurt people when he said something…unusual. His tracking and spying abilities had been wonderful strategic additions to his team, and his past made Naruto sympathize with him all the more.

The former root operative simply looked at them all blandly.

"Hello, Sakura-san, handsome," he greeted, ignoring Sasuke's glare. He paused when he turned to Naruto.

"Hi," Naruto began, "my name is Uzumaki Naruto." He went ahead and mentally prepared himself for Sai to say one of his weird things.

_Don't overreact, _he told himself, _I have to play it cool in front of Sakura-chan._

"I am Sai. It's very nice to meet you…dickless," the pale boy held his hand out casually for a handshake.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?"

ooooo

"Are you sure that they will let us through, Tenten-san?" Rock Lee asked the kunoichi walking behind him, "I hear they can be rather unyouthful about these things."

"If they're Neji's family, then we'll just have to give them a chance," the girl declared, "besides, how else are we supposed to get him? Geez this would have been much easier to plan if we'd been given _notice _one when he'd be coming back_. _One moment Gai-sensei comes to us and declares that his Eternal Rival's most youthful student has returned, and the next moment we're all taking him to dinner…it's just another excuse for him to have a 'Most Youthful Celebration'".

"The Youthful Naruto-kun is worth the sacrifice," Lee declared, "and to think I will be able to see the Cheery Blossom of Konoha as well! It is truly a pleasure!"

"Doesn't she spar with you sometimes?" Tenten asked dryly, giving the enthusiastic boy in green tights as exasperated look. His crush had been rather endearing at first, but now she was half of what he talked about. She didn't remember pestering _him _back when she had a half-hearted crush on one of the boys in their academy class.

"Barely once a month," Lee lamented, "my Sakura-san is such a busy kunoichi! But during those days…I show her the full extent of my passion through taijutsu!"

"Well I'm sure you look very handsome while covered in sweat," she sighed, "maybe you should think of wearing actual sparring clothes, those tights don't leave much to the imagination…."

"I will wear them for the rest of my life in an attempt to display my gratitude to Gai-sensei!"

"…fine. Well, we're here. Now how exactly do we go about this?" She looked up at the gates, which were slightly open. They were never really fully closed; that would only look suspicious.

The Hyuga compound was relatively closed off from the rest of the village, and for good reason. Generally, they were quiet and reserved people who liked to keep amongst themselves and marry off their first cousins. The gates that blocked it off from the rest of the village were not large and imposing, but they still kept the compound rather hidden.

Since this was a free day, Neji had retreated to his home, probably to either spar with Hinata or, if she was with her team, sit and read quietly. He was a boy of routine, and his routine was well known. Out of the two free days they had, one would be allocated to spending time with them, and his Sundays would be spent at home. Hyuga Neji made even friendship seem like a duty sometimes.

"I suppose we can just…go in," she stated bravely, slipping through the opening in the gate. Lee followed curiously behind her. She stopped and looked around the compound, a little surprised at what she saw.

"It is very…traditional," Lee observed.

Traditional didn't give it service. The soft looking houses ran in aesthetically placed rows that looked neither overly organized nor messy, the streets which looked like they had been _swept, _and everything was incredibly clean and neat. Around the houses were cherry blossom trees and star maples.

There weren't a lot of people outside since it was a Sunday, but the few that she saw as she walked forwards gave her disapproving looks. However, they made no move to stop her, so she took it as a good sign.

"How do we find Neji?" She asked, "I mean…I thought we could just look around for Hinata's family since they're related…"

"But they all look the same," Lee finished, agreeing. It was true, every Hyuga male was walking around with the same long black hair, pale eyes, and beige robes. It was slightly disorienting.

"…let's just go ask someone," she decided. She spotted a man walking by with his hands tucked into his sleeves, and walked up to him, dragging Lee by the arm.

"Um…" she began, "we're trying to find our teammate, Hyuga Neji…"

"The main house is down there," the man said bluntly, "you'll find him in the smaller house next to it," with that, he turned around to leave.

"That was most unyouthful," Lee muttered, watching the man's back as he left. He followed Tenten down the way they had been pointed in.

"No wonder Neji was so stuck-up," she agreed, "it's a good thing we beat it out of him."

"I think that was the youthful Hiashi-san's doing," Lee added, "after his visit three years ago, our Neji-kun changed."

"Well thank goodness for him, then. Looks like we're here," she stated, looking up the building in front of them. It was a traditional one level house with sliding doors and a path that lead to a large open area in the middle. She peered through the path to see two figures in the area.

"They're in there!" She walked in quickly with Lee following.

Neji and Hinata were in the middle of a sparring session. Their teammate obvious had the upper hand, and he was making the younger Hyuga quickly lose ground.

"Neji! Hinata-chan!" Tenten called, waving brightly.

"What…are you two doing here?" Neji asked, eyebrows raised.

"They are engaged in a most youthful spar between cousin brother and sister!" Lee cried, "I must join this demonstration of that which happens in the Springtime of Y-"

"We didn't come here to spar," Tenten interrupted, "Neji, we just came to tell you that Nar-"

"You can tell me later," he said a little too quickly. He turned back to Hinata.

"Hinata-sama, you are improving. We will continue this later."

"Y-yes, Neji-nii-san!" She nodded, "Tenten-san, Lee-san," she nodded her head in acknowledgement, and retreated into the house.

"You know, we were going to tell her too," Tenten pointed out, "the more the merrier."

"You were going to say that Naruto has returned, I could see that," Neji replied, stone-faced, "for _some _reason, Hinata-sama is…overly attached. In his time away, I have finally managed to make her focus more on her training, but it'll be ruined if she sees her 'Naruto-kun' again," he crossed his arms, "she'll go back to following him around, and that is undignified for a Hyuga heir."

"Don't be such a prude, Neji," Tenten advised, "if you tell her to improve _for _her Naruto-kun, she'll be going leaps and bounds in no time."

Neji decided not to dignify that with an answer.

"The illustrious Gai-sensei has decided that we will have a celebratory meal together to celebrate the youthful Naruto-kun's return," Lee declared, "and Gai-sensei has said that it will be his treat!"

Tenten sighed, "Neji, how much do you have on you."

"Five hundred ryo," the stoic boy replied, "and you, Tenten?"

"I can put together another hundred. If we get Sakura to empty her pockets too, I think we can manage…"

ooooo

_Three Months ago, Amegakure:_

"Why do you need to see him?"

The woman who stood in front of him had her arms loosely drooping to either side, not relaying any of the sternness that her voice betrayed. She was hauntingly beautiful, even though she showed no emotions at all. An angled face stared back at him while blue hair shone under a small paper flower.

He and Kisame had been the only outer Akatsuki members who had survived long enough to see her face, the real face beyond that of the flickering shadow that sometimes stood upon a finger of the Statue of the Outer Path. Deidara, Sasori, Hidan, and Kakuzu had died long before Pein-sama had granted them this privilege. Kisame had almost fallen in love on sight, but the woman radiated a kind of silent power that thankfully discouraged him from saying anything that would get him killed.

"That is for him to know," Uchiha Itachi told her, "I came to you because I assume that he is with Pein-sama."

"Nobody is permitted to see him," she replied, "you may speak with Pein-sama instead once he leaves." She had not been looking at him when he arrived, and she did not turn to acknowledge his presence.

"I need to see him before I leave on my task. At least once. It has to do with an issue regarding the Sharingan that only he will understand."

Konan refused to answer him. She turned to look out the windows of Amegakure's main tower, glancing over the village that was built in the crying land. She tilted her head, causing her blue hair to slip out of her collar, but the paper flower never moved.

"He is the last true Uchiha," Itachi went on, "I have worked with him once before."

"Yes, I've heard. It seems you did not singlehandedly murder your clan after all," came the reply. Her voice was deep, and had no tone at all. The statement was not an accusation, merely an observation.

"He will want to see me," Itachi continued, "at least ask Pein-sama to tell him. This is extremely important."

And for a minute, the angel of Amegakure simply stood in silence.

Three minutes later, Itachi was permitted inside the room at the very top of the tower. It was a small room, with only thick mats on the floor to sit on. Beyond it was a balcony that only Pein was ever allowed into. Every night, he would stand there and allow the people of Ame to see the representation of their god. Ever since he had begun showing himself to them, the devotion he received from the citizens had tripled.

When Itachi first arrived in Ame, he had been confused at the way the citizens had treated their Pein-sama. Pein was powerful beyond what he knew, but he was human. He had decided that their worship was due to the fact that they had never seen him, and realized that he was made of flesh like any other.

This theory had been shattered on the day Pein-sama first showed himself to his people. He didn't talk, or wave, or even show any emotion. He simply stood out on the balcony, looking out at the raining sky while his Akatsuki cloak and orange hair remained perfectly dry, and the village before him had burst into devotion.

Kisame had been perfectly willing to worship the angel of Amegakure, because he knew that it was Konan, and he would bow if only to her beauty. However, in the beginning, he would never worship Pein-sama. He saw no point.

Itachi didn't know how, but that was soon rectified.

Standing in the centre of the room were two figures. One was the solid version of the familiar figure that had stood upon the stone finger, and out on the balcony. He had taken to communicating with them though Konan, and so this was the first time Itachi had seen his solid form so close. The spiky orange hair, stern eyes, and strange metal piercings along his face marked Deva Pein, the one he had once thought to be the leader of the Akatsuki.

Uchiha Itachi did not even flinch when he laid eyes on the figure in the orange swirl mask standing beside Deva Pein.

He had already been though enough surprises.

**ooooo**

**For those of you who don't know Shukaku's history; she's probably the most bloodthirsty of the bijuu, because she once raided suna villages and killed people for no reason at all, while other bijuu were known to appear and cause destruction only in certain cases.**

**And Kousuke is Jiraiya's messenger toad. I don't know why he's called 'Kousuke', though; it doesn't fit with the entire Gama_ theme...**


	24. The Orange Mask & The Bell Test

**Chapter 24 – The Orange Mask & The Bell Test**

"You are not Uchiha Madara," Itachi stated bluntly.

The figure in the orange swirl mask simply looked at him. Usually, the mask would cast a shadow over the hole that revealed his eye, and Itachi suspected that he had used some sort of henge in placed to prevent them from seeing his eye color. Now, however, the eye was revealed, and the Sharingan stared back at him. Itachi almost expected him to speak in Tobi's comedic tone, but the voice that came out was much deeper and more serious.

"You said that rather quickly," he observed. Next to him, Pein stood silently. It was not obvious to many others, but Itachi could immediately see which of them had power over the other.

"It is your voice," Itachi admitted, "I remember Madara's voice very well." Madara's voice had haunted him for years. It had been deep and commanding, and he was the kind of person who would never speak in any other tone. Even if he tried, there was no way he would be able to replicate Tobi's high pitched giggles.

"I guessed that you would find out eventually," he replied, rather airily, "why did you want to see Madara?"

Itachi considered forgetting about it, but the need to know was too great, "may I know who you really are?"

"I am Uchiha Madara's heir and successor," the figure replied, "Now, _I _am Madara."

"Your name?" He planned to go ahead with his task anyway, but it would be easier to choose someone if he knew who the man really was.

"I was once called Obito."

The name was incredibly familiar, but Itachi couldn't pinpoint it exactly. He noticed that the man had tactfully left out his last name, but Obito was definitely someone from the Uchiha clan. The eye was not transplanted.

"Why did you want to see Madara?" The question came again.

"Is he alive?"

"No." Now he was just humoring him.

"Then," Itachi made a show of sighing, "I will give it to you instead."

It was dangerous, but he had already made the decision of doing it.

Itachi did not have many contacts, but he had his ways of keeping an eye on Uchiha Sasuke. He had watched snapshots of the boy's young life as his brother slowly distanced himself from others, as planned. However, Sasuke was already fifteen, and though he did not have the Mangekyou, rumors of the talent of Konoha's last Uchiha, already a jonin, permeated the intelligence black markets. He should have come by now. Knowing Sasuke, he would have at least tried.

The only explanation he could think of was that somehow, his brother had distanced himself from revenge. Of course, Itachi had made sure that night that it was _always _be there, at the back of his mind, but it seemed it had been slightly drowned out. The sooner he came and took his revenge and awakened the Eternal Mangekyou, the sooner he could return to having a normal life and defending himself from people like Madara – Obito.

But there was no way he could re-incite the flames of revenge if Sasuke was not willing. And Obito was playing a dangerous game with the world that his brother was going to live in. He had to have a plan in case everything went wrong. _No_, Itachi corrected himself, he had to have a plan if everything_ went right._

Slowly, without moving an inch, his right shoulder began to flicker. Pein and Obito watched warily as a beak slowly emerged from his cloak, as black as the cloth it came from. They kept their eyes trained on the shoulder as a bird's head followed. Soon, a black crow was fully emerged. Itachi raised an arm for it to settle on and it went about squawking and adjusting its feathers.

"Genjutsu?" Deva Pein inquired, having seen Itachi use the crow clones in battle before.

"No," he replied, "the crow is a container for this eye," Itachi held it up, and turned his arm to hold it away from him, revealing the crow's other eye. The other two occupants of the room watched carefully as the bird blinked.

"What is that?" Obito asked, his voice dangerously low. He looked into the crow's strange eye, into the red pattern that he had never before seen. It had the same spikes as his own Mangekyou, but there were four instead of three; arranged in a stylized square.

"This," Itachi began, "is an eye that only Uchiha Shisui has ever manifested. It is my prize, which I managed to take from his body after I killed him to activate my Mangekyou."

"What does it do, and where is the other eye?" Deva Pein asked, narrowing his eyes.

"The other had been taken from him before I killed him," Itachi stated the truth, but not all of it. They would know if he lied, so he could only ever speak the truth, "this eye is called the Koto Amatsukami. It is able to control a person's mind with regards to one goal, making it the ultimate genjutsu. Even I do not know all its secrets." That, at least, was perfectly honest.

"Why are you telling me this?" Obito moved for the first time since Itachi had entered. He stepped onto one of the mats, and walked closer to the other Uchiha's arm, where he stood and examined the crow, "and why is this eye in the socket of a crow's instead of your own, if it is so powerful?"

"It can only be used once in around a decade," Itachi replied, "so there is another year left. Until then, it is useless to me. I am telling you this because I want the Koto Amatsukami to exist on after my death."

"Do you plan to die?" Obito asked almost dryly, "it would be a pity if you did, considering all of what our dear snake prisoner has…graciously…provided you with."

"No, but you are asking me to face three Jinchuuriki, all of which supposedly have control over their bijuu," he replied, "and I must wait for my younger brother to awaken his Mangekyou so that I can take his and make mine eternal. In case I die during these endeavors, the Koto Amatsukami will be lost."

"So there was a reason you allowed one survivor," Pein commented impassively, "how proactive."

"And what do you plan to do about this?" came Obito's deep voice.

"Right now, it is keyed to my right eye," Itachi explained, "I think you are the only other person who will one day be able to unlock all of its secrets. I wish to make it respond to your eye after my death, since you are the only remaining true Uchiha."

ooooo

Hours later, Naruto sat back on his cushion and rubbed his bloated stomach, stuffed with a full dinner at Yakiniku-Q. On either side of him sat Sakura and Sasuke, and the table before them was filled with empty plates and smoldering grills. On the other side of the table were the members of team Gai.

"I'm stuffed…" Sakura complained, "but that was way too good," she sighed and sat back.

"What happened to losing weight, Sakura-chan?" Tenten teased.

"Oi! It's all collagen! And anyway, I need to eat a lot if I want to get stronger, right Kashi-sensei?" She turned to look expectantly at her teacher.

"Well yes, but if you keep on like that, we'll have to roll you onto the training field," her sensei joked.

"I think it is very youthful to be able to eat so much!" Lee exclaimed, "Yosh! Next time I will eat just as much meat as Sakura-san!"

"That's the spirit!" Gai encouraged, "it is only during the Springtime of Youth that one can do such things!"

"I guess I'm getting old, then," Kakashi stated, smiling under his mask.

Gai looked almost scandalized.

"If you order even one more plate Lee, you _will_ be paying," Neji stated, pushing away the empty plate which had been filled with a modest amount of barbeque. He noticed the glare that Sasuke was sending his way – for no apparent reason – and felt perfectly comfortable glaring back.

Naruto was simply staring at Sakura in surprise. Not because she ate a lot, he was already quite familiar with her portions. It was because she had just eaten a lot around _Sasuke_. That would have never happened before…was he missing something? Sasuke himself had only eaten a decent amount, while Naruto had rivaled Sakura's appetite.

"You had all better hope everything's digested before tomorrow's event," their sensei reminded.

"Event?" Tenten questioned, placing her chopsticks on the side of her plate, "is something going to happen tomorrow?"

"Sensei is going to give us another bell test to see how much we've improved," Sasuke told her once he was finished with his glaring match, "and _when _we succeed, he's going to tell us all about-"

"Mou, you shouldn't be so certain, Sasu-kun," the masked jonin admonished, "you're forgetting that I am the legendary Copy-nin. And I won't even give myself a handicap by reading my book this time."

"Pick it up and we'll tear it to shreds," Sakura promised firmly.

Gai seemed to be wiping tears from his eyes. He turned towards Tenten on his left and held his arms out, "my Eternal Rival's champions of youth have come so far. Come, my students, let us have our own test of Youth tomorrow-"

"Like hell!" Tenten snapped crossing her arms and turning away from Gai's Most Youthful Embrace which only Lee was willing suffer, "we know exactly how well that went last time!"

"How well?" Naruto enquired. He already knew that Asuma's team, like theirs, had been given the bell test since Asuma was the Hokage's son and wanted to pass down the legacy. Kurenai had been given a tracker team, so she had tested their tracking skills in some way. But he had never found out about Gai's original test.

"Well, we didn't exactly have to pass a _test _afterwe graduated," Neji began, "Gai-sensei simply asked us questions about ourselves and then made us his genin."

"I have great confidence in my youthful teaching abilities," the other jonin declared, "any student under me will grow with the power of youth."

"…well," Neji continued, "in order to see what we could do, we had to fight him as a team. Lee didn't seem to understand the _team _part."

"Neither did you, Neji," Tenten informed him.

"What happened?" Sakura asked, growing curious.

"Lee went up and challenged him to a taijutsu spar," Neji sighed, "apparently he showed such 'youthfulness' that Gai-sensei decided to continue sparring with him. For the rest of the day," he sighed.

"They were pretty intense," Tenten admitted, "I just went ahead and challenged Neji to a match while we waited for sensei and Lee to finish."

"It was a most youthful challenge!" Lee declared, "and that was the day I was gifted with Gai-sensei's special green body-suit!"

"Is that how it happened?" Kakashi said airily, "with that suit and the haircut, you resemble him greatly. Especially around the eyebrows."

For some reason, Lee and Gai shot him twin smiles. They were taking it as a compliment.

ooooo

"B-san, despite what you may think, that is _not _a disguise. You're drawing attention to us," Gaara hissed, looking across the table at the Kumo nin who was wrapped head to toe in beige cloth with an opening for his eyes.

"But if he takes it off now, it'll draw even _more _attention," Utakata sighed, pushing around his cup of tea.

They had been waiting in a small village near the northern borders of Kawa no Kuni for an entire day. The village was small and mostly poor since there were none others close by, but that was why they had chosen it. Primarily because B was unlikely to be recognized, and also because the Akatsuki members would have to come by the place unless they wanted to sleep in the swamps outside.

Due to its size, there was only one inn of note, which had a measly ten rooms for rent. B had called one for himself, and Gaara and Utakata had decided to share another. Kousuke had decided to stay inside their rooms, since large red toads were not native to the area. That morning, they had settled in a small teahouse near the gates of the village, waiting for the Akatsuki members to arrive.

"It's good enough, kono yaro," B said rather loudly. They were the only customers in the small place, but the owner looked across with narrowed eyes. The Kawa dialect was very…different, and he didn't have it.

"How much more time do you think they'll take?" Gaara commented, looking back towards the gates that hadn't opened since they arrived.

"Maybe the Akatsuki like to travel slowly," was Utakata's reply. He took one last sip to finish his cup and then pushed it away, "how are you feeling, Gaara?"

"How's Shukaku, baka yaro?" B added.

"I think…that I'll have to release her," Gaara said carefully, "we can do it in a secluded area far from civilization. You and Gyuki can defeat her and make her weaker, and then I'll be able to put up a stronger wall while she recovers."

"That's a risky move," Utakata commented, "are you sure? We'll have to wait until we have a medic on hand, though. Extreme chakra loss can be dangerous."

"Well, if it's necessary…" Gaara looked at the translucent, brown liquid in his cup and pushed it away with a sigh, "I've survived almost complete chakra loss before when Shukaku was extracted from me, so I believe I can do it again."

Suddenly, B's finger tapped harshly on the table twice. Both of the other Jinchuuriki stiffened, and managed to slowly look over their shoulders at the gates.

It was surprising how obvious they made it, but hiding wasn't what one worried about when one was an s-rank missing nin. The two figures, one medium height and thin, one large and bulky, were dressed openly in their Akatsuki cloaks. It was extremely unlikely that the red clouds would be recognized in a small place like this.

On their heads were wide-brimmed conical hats that covered most of Kisame's blue facial skin.

"B! Get under the table!" Utakata hissed, pulling at his arm. The Kuno nin was far from inconspicuous while he was wrapped completely in cloth. Luckily, he didn't seem to put up much of a fight, and quickly slid underneath the table.

The two cloaked figures passed by them without giving them a second look, which Gaara was grateful for. He focused on his cup, and stole occasional glances at the shorter of the two figures, which he assumed was Uchiha Itachi. He stopped by one of the local men and they spoke for a moment before Itachi nodded and set out in the direction of the inn.

"How do we start?" Utakata wondered out loud, allowing B to come back up from under the table, "I suppose we'll have to go back to the inn. Since we're all chakra-intensive fighters, it would be best to leave the village before we engage them."

"Let's go back to the inn and see," Gaara suggested, "maybe I can find some way to distract Itachi once I'm there." He really hated going in without a direct, specific plan, but this would have to do.

Utakata and B nodded, and they left a few coins on the table of the teahouse before leaving.

Ten minutes later, they were all seated on the floor of Utakata and Gaara's room.

"Where's Kisame, kono yaro?" B complained.

"I don't know which room he's in," Utakata continued, "I've…never really done many covert missions before."

"Me an' Gyuki like fighting, not hiding," the Kumon nin agreed.

Both turned to Gaara.

"I was the Kazekage," the red-haired boy stated simply, "I have had little need for stealth," he considered it, "if you like, I will use my Third Eye to check through the windows of each room to locate them."

"That would be convenient," Utakata nodded.

With that, Gaara stood up and slipped out of the room through the window, trying not to make any sounds. When he was outside, he looked across at the rest of the building, identifying the windows of the other rooms.

"Daisan no Mei," he whispered, putting two fingers over his left eye. He drew upon his chakra to channel into his optical nerve.

The moment he felt the chakra flowing through his tenketsu, he knew that there was a problem.

His tenketsu points felt like they had been set on fire, and in the dimension within his seal, Shukaku's voice began to come though.

"Kill…blood…give Mother blood," she growled, the voice echoing within the cage. In front of her, the wall of sand was crumbling slowly, allowing the words to seep out.

"N-no," Gaara clutched his head and bent over, delving into the prison. Shukaku's one green and golden eye stared out through a corner like it had before. The red-haired boy gritted his teeth and channeled chakra into the sand at his feet.

"Blood...child…validate your…existence," came the growling, "blood…_his _blood…"

The sand at his feet rose up, imbued with every drop of chakra he could force into them. It rushed towards the opening in the wall. But even as it filled the hole, other holes began to form. The wall was thinning, and as it thinned the voice became louder.

"Silence!" Gaara yelled at the eye, now surrounded by light brown fur, "be quiet!"

"Kill…validate…"

With one last burst of determination he threw his hands up and sent sand streaming up at the wall. The pure raw power behind the spray was enough to crash into the Tanuki's eye, which had been poking out, and the bijuu withdrew with a scream. Gaara felt the sweat pouring down his forehead as he dropped to his knees, leaving the dimension of the seal. Sand began to pour away from his shoulder, which had begun to turn brown with the slightest hint of a partial transformation.

Within seconds, he found that he had collapsed on real ground as well, and his fingers were splayed in front of him, digging into the soil. He sighed deeply and decided to go straight inside and inform B and Utakata that he was unable to use chakra, and that they had to let Shukaku out and weaken her.

Before he could stand up and off his knees, a rush of ice-cold water crashed into him from above. For a second he thought he could still be in the seal's dimension, but the world around him was definitely real. He spluttered under the water, coughing, and saw lumps of clay fall onto his hands as the Sand Armor that surrounded him began to clump together and drop from his skin. He wasn't able to use any chakra to hold it up any longer.

A chill grew in his heart as he realized what was happening. Instead of standing up, he was barely able to turn around to see who was behind him.

A black cloak was the first thing he saw. Then there was the first red cloud at its base. His eyes went higher and higher as he observed more of the figure that had doused him with water, his only weakness. Behind him was Uchiha Itachi, holding a one of the inn's buckets filled with bath water in one hand. It was now empty, its contents having been poured out. Gaara barely registered the red irises before he fell unconscious.

ooooo

"Why are you here?" Senju Tsunade asked the _extremely _pale boy standing beside her.

"Now that Uzumaki Naruto is back, I may be assigned to his four man squad with Uchiha Sasuke as the jonin leader. I would like to know what he is capable off, since I have heard some incredibly strange rumors about him," Root operative Sai replied in a monotone, "what about you, ugly?" He turned towards Jiraiya and looked directly at him.

The toad sannin took a few deep breaths and reminded himself that the boy was one of Danzo's emotionless robots and he couldn't take his words to heart

"I'm here to see how my newest student is doing too," he finally said, a hint of strain in his voice. He turned to the man standing beside him, "and you, 'Konoha's Noble Green Beast'?"

"I have come to see the Youthful Sakura challenge my Eternal Rival to taijutsu!" Gai declared, "I shall witness the sweat pour from their foreheads and bask in the wonders of Youth!"

"Um…it's my free day at the hospital," Shizune added, "and Gai-san told me team seven was having an epic battle. And I suppose it would be nice to see how Sakura-chan has improved; I hear she's been learning a bit of iryou-ninjutsu from one of the interns at the hospital," she turned towards the kunoichi standing by her, "and you, Yugito-senpai? I thought you were sleeping in after your long travels?"

"I always wake up at exactly five in the morning," Yugito told her, "I saw you and Tsunade-sama leaving and thought I'd follow. I'm not even sure what's happening, really."

"I'm here to see my student kick senpai's butt," Anko declared, arms folded over her mesh shirt.

"No one asked you, snake girl," Tsunade snapped. She had a sort of dislike for Orochimaru's former student, who had a sadistic streak.

Anko muttered under her breath while Jiraiya shot them both amused looks.

They were standing behind a group of trees near the end of training ground nine, which had been chosen for team seven's latest bell test. It wasn't a plain field like seven, or a full-fledged forest like forty-four. Instead it had both trees and clearings, making it the perfect place for both hiding and flashy battles.

Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto were already gathered in the centre of the clearing, waiting for their sensei.

"He's late." Sasuke observed.

"He's probably at the memorial, Sasuke-kun," Sakura sniffed, "you shouldn't be so insensitive."

"Let's go over the plan," Naruto suggested, "sensei won't be here for half an hour at least."

"Sure," Sakura brightened, "I spend _hours _yesterday doing research. Sensei's bingo book entry gives an outline of what he can do, but there are some records – not exactly _public _per se – that go a little more in detail. I even went to the hospital and begged for his medical record. Just to see if he had any injuries that we could use against him."

Naruto winced, "that's harsh, Sakura-chan."

"All's fair in battle, dobe," Sasuke reminded him, "sensei may be working at a handicap without his Mangekyou Sharingan, but he's still strong _and _intelligent. I know I can overpower him in pure genjutsu, but even Sakura's not as clever, and you're _probably_ not as strong."

Naruto wisely decided not to change his opinion. He turned to Sakura, "they let you look at his _hospital records_?"

"Well, no," Sakura admitted, "they didn't allow me. That's why I asked Ino to go in and retrieve them for me," she grinned widely, "she wasn't _officially _allowed, but since she was an intern with a uniform, she just walked around like she was _supposed _to be there and no one questioned it. I owe her lunch, and I fully expect you two to donate to the cause."

Sasuke smirked, "that's clever. What did you find?" The three of them all leaned closer and spoke more quietly, just in case they were overheard.

"Sensei did an A rank with Shiranui Genma and Namiashi Raido two months ago, but the mission details are private. What I _do _know is that his left shoulder was dislocated due to a fall, and put back into place by Genma-san. It was easy for the iryounin to heal, but something like that will leave some aftereffects for at least ten weeks. His muscles will be a little tight around that area, and I can use that to my advantage," she finished in a whisper.

"Good work, Sakura-chan!" Naruto stated, impressed. She had certainly grown devious in his time away.

"And about his jutsu?" Sasuke pressed, his forehead crinkling.

"He's proficient in raiton, suiton, katon, and doton," she went on, "although we've never seen him use suiton jutsu. You already know that if he sees your hand seals he'll be able to copy them. I wasn't able to find more than that, really," she bit her lip in disappointment, "let's go over the plan now. We were given exactly one hour to retrieve the bells. "

Sasuke nodded, "since his greatest tool is ninjutsu, I'll engage him first with genjutsu to try and deplete his chakra while you two place the seals and set the Naruto-clones in position," he began, "he'll last longer because of his greater reserves, but I'll tire him out for as long as I can before retreating. Fifteen minutes. Then I'll follow a traveler-clone and wait for my chakra to replenish in one of the safe areas where the seals haven't been laid, and dispel its messenger-clone. Sakura will receive the message and will come to my position, where she'll _attempt _to heal any injuries I have."

"And then I come in," Naruto continued, "and I barrage him with kage bunshin while Sakura-chan heals you, Sasuke. He should be able to get through my kage bunshin easily and without much chakra loss, but it'll keep him occupied for a while and he won't discover the seals too quickly while the rest of my clones finish placing them. Ten minutes."

"And then it's my turn," Sakura began, "if we all go in at the same time, he'll use a large-scale jutsu on us. So I'll go in alone and engage him with taijutsu, where I'll try to make use of his weak shoulder. If I succeed, it might prevent him from using his full-speed while forming seals later on. Fifteen minutes."

"Finally, when he's hopefully lost a bit of chakra and his arm is weakened so he's unable to form seals as quickly, I go at him with lots of rasengan made by my clones," Naruto went on, "he'll be forced to use one of his large-scale jutsu to destroy them, and I'll keep sending them in until I'm sure he's at least three quarters depleted."

"Once he's tired, I'll go in with my enhanced Chidori to shock him, and Naruto will grabs the bells with his sage-mode speed while he's distracted," Sasuke finished, "sounds fine by me."

"And if anything goes wrong, the paper bombs will be our backups," Sakura nodded, "Naruto, do you have all of them?"

"Yup!" Naruto patted his pouch where dozens of hand-drawn paper bombs lay, "I'll send my clones out with them as soon as the task begins. That'll keep him in the main area, and if he tries to run they'll be set off."

"You know what sensei always says," Sakura smiled, "you can fight anyway you like, but to _win _you need a plan. Unless your opponent is ridiculously weak, of course."

"Or you have Naruto's knack for friendship speeches," Sasuke muttered, "Naruto, while setting your clones, be careful not to harm our little audience."

His two teammates looked around to see the small group gathered behind the trees.

"Don't worry, I'll adjust the blast radius," Naruto nodded, "look, sensei's here."

ooooo

Despite what his students thought, Hatake Kakashi was _indeed _taking their test seriously. He had solemnly put his copy of Jiraiya's newest book deep inside of his pocket and was walking into the training grounds with the full intent of taking this battle seriously.

In fact, he had to take it seriously. Even without the Kyuubi's chakra, Naruto was a formidable young shinobi, and Sasuke had already made jonin by the young age of fifteen, something that was preceded only by Kakashi's own jonin rank at thirteen. Sakura was coming along brilliantly in her taijutsu, and she had begun to inherit his own knack for strategic thinking. He had no doubt that the girl had poured through every Hatake file she could get her hands on.

When he had told Naruto that morning that they would have an hour to capture the bells, the boy had laughed and told him that in his timeline, he and Sakura had been given the entire day and they had _barely _managed to win, only by using spoiler tactics.

Kakashi had informed him that if he _dared _spoil his new book, the test would be cancelled.

When he walked out to the middle of the field, the three other members of team seven were standing there already, waiting for him with serious looks. In the distance, a small party was waiting and watching, hoping to catch the defeat of Kakashi of the Sharingan.

"Well," he began, "sorry I'm late. This old lady asked me to walked her to her house, and I didn't know she lived on top of a cliff."

"It's alright sensei, you don't need to make excuses anymore," Sakura told him with a smile, "we already know where you were."

"Mou…I really liked thinking of those," he rubbed his head sheepishly, "are we clear on the rules?"

"Get the bell within one hour and don't use fatal attacks," Sakura recited, "we got it."

"If things get too tough, feel free to show us the Mangekyou," Sasuke smirked, "it'll make it…fun."

Naruto gulped. It seemed that his friend had developed a sadistic streak while he was away. He blamed Anko.

"I'd never do that to my cute students," Kakashi protested, "I might accidently kill you, and then what would I do with my life?"

"How sweet," Sakura said dryly, "set the timer, sensei, we're ready."

"Yeah!" Naruto exclaimed, "this time I'll One Thousand Years of Death _your _behind!"

At this, Kakashi looked genuinely worried for a moment, and wondered how on earth Naruto knew about that _special _jutsu. He sighed and took out the timer, setting in on the ground.

"Alright, kids. Time starts…now!"

At that very moment, Naruto put his hands together, forming the clone seal.

"Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

Kakashi put both his arms up, prepared to battle Naruto's cannon fodder. Clouds of chakra smoke filled the clearing as around a hundred clones popped into existed.

"Rushing right in, Naruto?" He asked loudly.

"Nope!" The blond boy turned back to his clones and made a single hand sign. Each of the hundred clones immediately dispersed and went off in different directions. Kakashi narrowed his eyes as he watched them leave, hands ready to form seals and disappear into the ground. From the corner of his eye, he saw Sakura disperse as well, holding the arm of one of the clones. The real Naruto went off with them.

Finally, there was only Sasuke standing in front of him. Hmm, curious. He suspected that they would send Sakura in first to tire him out with taijutsu, but she seemed to have gone into background for now.

The boy smirked widely, and Kakashi winced at how similar it was to Anko's signature grin. They had been spending too much time training together, and now she was rubbing off on him…

"Sharingan!" He said loudly, blinking momentarily. When his eyes opened, the red irises with the familiar three tomoe revealed themselves, while the sadistic smirk remained on his face. The masked jonin sighed and pushed up his own hitai-ite.

"First shinobi skill: genjutsu," Sasuke began, "how well do you think your eye can do against both of mine?"

ooooo

From where they were hiding in the trees, Naruto-14 and Naruto-38 looked down into the clearing. Their leg muscles were beginning to cramp from how long they had been staying absolutely still for over ten minutes.

"Aww come on," Naruto-14 whined, "they're just _standing _there!" he looked dejectedly at where Sasuke and Kakashi were indeed facing each other with a few meters of distance between them.

"Well, that's what genjutsu _does, _you idiot," Naruto-38 whispered harshly.

"You can't call _me _an idiot, I'm you, you idiot!"

"Shut up and watch."

"But they're not _doing _anything! Sasuke was totally boasting about his abilities before. I want to see a battle of epic proportions!" Naruto-14 complained.

"I bet it's a genjutsu of epic proportions," his other clone offered.

"Why can't we just take the opening to attack," Naruto-14 thought up, "I mean, he's off guard, right?"

"No, you idiot! Just because they're in a genjutsu battle, doesn't mean they're off guard," Naruto-38 snapped, "if you get dispelled Boss will kill us! He totally wants to see Sasuke and Sakura-chan's fights, but he's stuck laying the tags and directing the battle clones."

"Why do _I _get to be Boss's watcher?" Naruto-14 whined, "I wanna fight, dammit!"

"Shut up, sensei's taking out a kunai! I think they broke out of it!" The other clone put his hand over his partner's mouth and watched as the copy-nin below threw the kunai at Sasuke's chest.

ooooo

Hatake Kakashi had to admit that he was slightly breathless.

"That was well done, Sasuke," he instructed, "but it seems that I can last longer."

Unknown to the Naruto clones that were watching, they had just been through one of the fiercest battles that Sasuke had ever participated in. The Uchiha boy had put his all into the genjutsu, even managing to stab his sensei though the chest twice before his head had been swept right off by Kakashi's illusory tanto.

The genjutsu had been controlled by Sasuke, who had been correct in assuming that his eyes were stronger. However, the copy-nin had been using his Sharingan eye for over a decade, and had much more experience with it. He also had larger chakra reserves, so even though the illusion had come from Sasuke's eyes, he had fought back within it.

Sasuke stood panting, feeling the drain in his chakra reserves. Now was the time to retreat, he had to find Naruto-38 – or something like that – and head to where Sakura was.

But it didn't seem like Kakashi was about to let him go, because a kunai came flying at him.

He dodged nimbly to one side, jamming his fingers into his pouch and quickly fingers four more between his knuckles. As he turned, he swung his arm out, sending them back in the direction of the kunai. They flew just as the blade swept past his ear.

He turned around to see Kakashi not standing in his previous spot, and his eyes widened. Before he knew it, three shuriken imbedded themselves in his leg. He winced and gritted his teeth, completing the turn to find his sensei. But the clearing was empty.

Naruto-38 appeared right beside him, "he's escaped through the ground, but the tags have been laid so he shouldn't be able to get far. I've sent word, so it's time to get you to Sakura-chan."

"Right," Sasuke mumbled, looking down at his leg. The Naruto clone followed his line of vision to the three kunai stuck down his calf. The thick cloth of his pants had helped them stay superficial, but they needed to be cared for. He immediately bent over and plucked them from his skin, watching as his teammate winced with each one's removal.

Suddenly, the trees began to turn orange as the army of Naruto appeared. They all jumped out of their spots and into the clearing.

"Tags set," one of them declared, "Sakura's in position. And we're ready."

"Target flew," Sasuke informed it, "look for the blast."

The clones all nodded and dispersed into the clearing, keeping an eye out for explosions. Naruto-38 took one look at the pained expression on Sasuke's face and put his arm around the taller boy, lifting him up and swinging him over his shoulder.

"Oi bunshin-dobe! I can walk!"

"We can't risk it," the clone yelled, "this is faster," he signaled Naruto-14 in the tree before heading towards the river that ran through a part of the training ground.

ooooo

"Oi…maybe we should have set more tags," one of the fifty clones in the clearing complained.

"He can't go too far. We've set their blast radii perfectly," another informed him.

"Argh…we're wasting time here!" A third complained, "we only have fifteen minutes at most to tire him out, and four of them are already up!"

That was when they saw it. The small cloud of smoke that flew up from the ground merely a few meters beyond the clearing, collapsing a tree. All the Narutos immediately knew what had happened.

"Dammit, he's been listening!" The first one growled, "he knows about the tags now! Go, everyone, get your butts moving! He pushed the clones out of the way and headed for their target, "we only have ten minutes left for us before Sakura comes!"

The clones all nodded and got into motion, heading directly for the small cloud of smoke.

Kakashi had lain there in hiding, listening to the Naruto clones talk about the tags. Then he had tried to get away, and had encountered one of them himself. Having seen the clones in the very beginning dispersing in all directions, it was likely that they had carefully scouted out the landscape beforehand to know exactly where to lay them to cover the most area in the least amount of time. It wasn't something he had expected Naruto to come up with, and he suspected Sakura's involvement.

He sighed. At least Sasuke would be out for a while. The Uchiha boy was improving rapidly, and he had almost given up and broken out of the genjutsu to run. Now he knew that would have been a bad idea. The idea of the tags was to keep him still in one area.

No matter. Kakashi stood up from behind the doton wall he had used to defend from the blast and heading back into the clearing. If they really wanted to fight head on, that would be fine. All he had to do was last the hour.

He was met with the sight of over forty clones heading for him, each with a rasengan in hand.

"Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!"

The giant ball of fire scorched the air as it flew towards the barrage of Narutos. His high-chakra version was enough to overpower many of the small rasengans, although some clones used their rasengan as a defense. That alone took out around half of the cannon fodder, and Kakashi momentarily wondered why they were so weak. It was clear that Naruto was holding back chakra. He probably had something planned for later.

"You can't hope to land a hit if the clones are that weak, Naruto," Kakashi called out as the remaining clones coughed from the smoke of the Goukakyu.

"Two minutes!" One of the clones yelled out, "attack!"

Kakashi paused as the twenty or so clones left ran at him, new rasengans in their hand. _Two minutes_? He was quite sure that there was at least half an hour left.

He raised his hands and used his speed to form ten seals in under a second.

"Raiton Kage Bunshin!"

Fifteen Kakashis headed out to meet the Narutos, kunai in their hands. Each of them carried lightning within them, and as they battled with the kage bunshin, they dispelled and let the lightning free. The clones all dispelled themselves close to one or two Naruto, and eventually the only other person standing in the clearing apart from him was a raiton kage bunshin that hadn't been dispelled.

Kakashi sighed and snapped his fingers, allowing the final clones to dispel. Naruto had not been among them; he had fought a small army of pure clones. That put more meaning behind the 'two minutes'. Those clones had been distractions, used for the purpose of tiring him out. He sighed. He had used two large jutsu on them; counting on Naruto's habit in always being the first one to rush forwards and fight. It seemed that the boy had lost some of his stupidity on that training trip. Naruto was dangerous enough while he _was _an idiot…

He then turned around to face his next opponent.

"SHANNARO!"

ooooo

"Oh! That was good," Jiraiya nodded, "I think I understand what he did now."

"Hmm?" Tsunade raised an eyebrow, "did it have something to do with that explosion before Kakashi came back out into the clearing?"

"The objective is to get the bells, correct?" Yugito began for him, "so Kakashi would obviously want to hide himself until the time limit was over. To prevent him from doing that, they've filled the forest with paper bombs. The clearing is the only safe place."

"But…Sakura and Sasuke are travelling through the forest," Shizune bit her lip, "how do they know where each one is? What if they get caught too?"

"That's why there's a Naruto clone standing beside each paper bomb," Yugito went on, "they travel in the narrow gaps between each blast radius. Every clone knows the blast radius of its bomb, and will create another clone and dispel if Sasuke or Sakura get too close, conveying the message to the clone leading them."

"That's…complicated," Tsunade commented, "but why doesn't Kakashi just send one of his suiton jutsu into the forest to set them all off and clear the area?"

"By the time he figured out their tag-laying plan, he had also figured out that they want to force him to use as many large scale jutsu as possible," Jiraiya told her, "although I think that's probably what he'll do next. If he makes it into the forest and hides successfully, they'll have a tough time trying to find him before the time limit is over. After all, none of them are trackers."

"Who's that girl?" Tsunade asked, watching the pink haired girl rush at Kakashi with her hand fisted, "she seems rather good."

She had a strange feeling as she looked across the clearing at where the girl was pivoting on one foot. Tsunade narrowed her eyebrows and frowned.

"She is the sparring partner and future soulmate of my youthful student Lee," Gai declared, "the Cherry Blossom of Konoha, chunin Haruno Sakura!"

ooooo

Ever since she had first landed a punch on him, Kakashi knew that Sakura was made to fight this way. He hadn't doubted Naruto for a second when the boy had informed him that she had once been the student of Senju Tsunade. The similarities were incredibly uncanny.

He evaded another kick and slipped in his own strike at her stomach, only to see her spin out of the way. Before, her style had been inelegant but raw and powerful. After two years of training, she was now more controlled, with less wasted movement and more grace.

Along with her genjutsu skills and the iryou-ninjutsu that she was barely scraping together because she had no time to intern at the hospital, she was quickly becoming a very unpredictable opponent.

He fought back, the beginnings of a sweat gathering on his forehead.

"Second shinobi skill," Sakura growled, "taijutsu!"

He could almost hear Gai's cheers in his head.

He blocked another punch and his eyes widened as her leg came up for a kick to his shoulder. Quickly jumping out of the way, he grimaced as her foot swept through the air fast enough to cause a small swoosh of sound. That would not have felt good if it had hit. Her kicks slightly resembled Lee's style. She sparred with the boy sometimes, and even though she had yet to win against him in a pure taijutsu match, it seemed she was picking things up.

Sakura came at him again, not stopping for a second. The way she spun around to evade hits reminded him uncannily of the jyuuken. Had she been copying moves up Hinata? They had been in the same graduating class, and she and the Hyuga girl and Asuma's student Ino sometimes spent their free days together. As he whipped his arm out to catch her jaw and she spun back, he saw it again.

Her punches, thought, were purely her own style. It was a good thing the bells were worn on his side or she could have grabbed them.

As they fought, Kakashi began to notice something. There were many weak points on the human body that one could hit while fighting. The stomach, the jaw, the thighs, the shinbone…but many of her hits were gravitating towards his left shoulder.

Sakura would not do something like that without good reason to. He thought back, and his eyes widened as he remembered the mission that Shiranui Genma had made a mistake on. He had jumped to save the other jonin…and his _left shoulder _had been dislocated.

She had either asked Genma or Raido, or gone through his hospital records. Clever girl.

Kakashi made the mistake of being too deep in thought while in the middle of battle. The side of his palm made sound contact against her collarbone…just as a punch landed on his left shoulder.

He leapt back and clutched the shoulder. Normally, it would not have done much harm. However, he was beginning to feel the aftereffects of the dislocation, and his shoulder joint was growing slightly stiff.

"Third shinobi skill: ninjutsu!" yelled a voice behind him.

He barely managed to leap out of the way as a rasengan came crashing into the ground where he had stood.

"Nice timing, Naruto," Sakura told him, pressing one hand into her injured collar.

"No problem, Sakura-chan," as Naruto stood up, the red cloak flew around him and animalistic yellow pupils shone in the morning light.

Ah. Kakashi sighed. The reason the clones had all been so weak was because Naruto had been concentrated on using his sage mode. He had spent almost forty-five minutes gathering natural energy, and that accounted to a formidable amount. It seemed that he would have to pull out the larger skills. He put his hands together, prepared to blast the forest with a large scale katon jutsu and set off all the paper bombs. Once the area was cleared, he would be able to hide himself inside the ground. There were only ten minutes left, after all. But the moment he turned around…

"Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!"

Kakashi jumped back as the fireball shot past him, easily evading it. He flipped back onto his feet and turned to see the third addition. Uchiha Sasuke stood behind him, arms crossed and preventing him from escaping into the forest.

"Oh look, all my students are out in the open," the masked jonin observed, looking around at the three. Sakura was flexing her arm while clutching her collarbone, a hint of green chakra glowing in her hand. Naruto was grinning widely with his sage cloak, one clone standing beside him. Sasuke…had snakes coming out of his sleeves.

"Kuchiose: Sen'eijashu," he yelled, allowing the snakes to head for the man in front of him.

Kakashi acted quickly.

"Doton: Doryuuheki!"

A wall of earth erupted from the ground and crashed into Sasuke's snakes, crushing a few of them. The rest were stopped in their tracks.

"Ninjutsu?" He straightened, "let's see how well you do against some of the thousand that I have copied," he fingers came together in the tiger seal, and began forming the jutsu. Kakashi frowned as he realized that he could no longer do it at full speed. It was probably due to Sakura's earlier punch.

"Suiton: Suijinheki!"

That should have taken them out completely, but due to his lapse in speed, Sakura and Naruto were able to jump back as the wall of water crashed into them. It took a fair amount of chakra to use the jutsu in an area with no water to draw from, but it was worth it. It would keep them down for at least a minute, and there were only eight minutes left.

Before he could think, Sasuke was on him, striking out with a kunai in one hand that was surrounded by the snakes flying out of his sleeves. Kakashi had to remind himself that the boy was a jonin, and was at least as good as he himself had been as a fifteen years old. He was a solid B-rank jonin, and was widely expected to be A rank by the time he was twenty.

The signature bukijutsu of the Uchiha was turned on him, and he barely avoided a kunai to the arm. He pulled a shuriken quickly from his pouch and managed to impale it on one of the snakes before jumping back.

"SHANNARO!"

His eyes widened and he leapt out of the way again as a solid punch swept by where he had been standing. Her collar was already recovered?

Sakura swerved at the last moment and barely avoided getting a kunai to the leg as Kakashi threw it in midair. He looked at the time as he landed. Two minutes. It seemed that they wouldn't be able to do it after all.

"Raiton: Chidori!"

Hatake Kakashi paused in shock, and turned around. The familiar sound of chirping filled his ears as he saw Sasuke heading for him with Chidori. That was an _assassination _technique. What was he thinking?

He wasted milliseconds regretting teaching it to him, before he noticed that while Sasuke was not getting any closer, the lightning _was_. Somehow, it was extending from his arm. He was throwing it. But this was still _Chidori, _the _lethal _technique that Sasuke had _sworn _never to use other than to protect his friends. His eyes widened, and he leapt out of the way, not caring of what was behind him.

He could take another jutsu if he needed, but Chidori was meant to kill.

"Naruto!" came Sasuke's yell, "go!"

ooooo

Naruto saw the opening clearly. His sensei had just landed from dodging Sasuke's chidori, and he was within reach with his back turned to him. The bells dangled on the side his hip. With sage mode's speed, there was no way he could miss.

He rushed forwards, hand outreached. Kakashi's back was still turned, and he was looking back as if in slow motion. Slow compared to Naruto's sage speed. The bells were now only half a meter away from his hands.

Seconds before he could grab the bells, Naruto realized that he was in the _perfect _position. For revenge.

Instead of putting his hand out to grab the bells, he put fingers together into the tiger seal.

"Konoha's Secret Finger Jutsu: One Thousand Years of Death!"

ooooo

Sakura watched Naruto go for the bells with a triumphant grin. It was quickly washed away when she saw their sensei go flying for two meters in the air, normally relaxed eyes wide with shock.

She looked sideways at the timer with a sinking feeling and her suspicions were confirmed. Their time was out. The rage built up inside her as she stalked towards her blond teammate, who – for some reason – was looking _ecstatic. _

"You idiot!" She yelled, taking him by the front of his shirt and shaking him, "you gave up the opportunity to grab the bells to do _that_? We're out of time!"

"It was revenge! You understand, right Sasuke?" Naruto looked hopefully at the Uchiha boy who was standing nearby. Unfortunately, there might as well have been a thundercloud over his head.

"I," he declared between gritted teeth, "am going to introduce you to a certain sensei of mine…"

"The time is up, students of mine," Kakashi declared, standing up rather stiffly from where he had been sent flying, "it seems that I took quite a lot of damage though…" He looked at Sasuke, "it seems that you've done something to change the Chidori. That would not have killed me, would it?"

"No, sensei," Sasuke admitted, "I changed it," the smirk was back on his face.

"Well, my shoulder is still a little stiff…"

"I'm so sorry! I'll fix it right away!" Sakura cried, running over to where he was standing. Before he could move, her hands were coated with a faint amount of green chakra and she was holding it over the area she'd punched.

"I…don't think you're doing that right," he commented, "I'm not feeling anything."

"It works!" The pink haired girl protested, "it just…takes a while. I fixed Sasuke's leg and my collar like this."

"We _almost _won," Sasuke tried, "so we can all just forget about the dobe's idiocy and you can declare us passed, right?"

Kakashi sighed a deep and world weary sigh, still looking at Sakura's hand, which didn't seem to have any effect whatsoever. But the girl was frowning in utmost concentration and he didn't have the heart to tell her. He looked up to the sky in thought, and sighed again.

"Alright. We can all say you've won this time," he conceded, "I was rather impressed anyway," he went directly into teacher mode, "Sasuke, you have gotten extremely talented with your natural genjutsu. If you built up your chakra reserves, it would turn into a truly formidable weapon. That change to the Chidori was also unexpected, and succeeded in surprising me. You also seem to have been learning a lot from Anko recently."

"Yup! That's my student!" Anko declared. Their small viewing group had finally come out of the trees. She swung an arm around Sasuke's shoulders and grinned at him.

"Sakura," Kakashi turned to the girl still concentrating on his shoulder and biting her lip, "that was a good plan, and you've done an impressive amount of research beforehand. Your taijutsu is improving rapidly and along with your stamina, that's very impressive. You're well on your way to becoming a jonin."

Sakura glowed with praise.

"You hand, however, is still doing absolutely nothing to help my shoulder.

"Be patient!" She snapped.

"What a wonderful display of Youth your battle was, Sakura! My Lee is truly lucky to have a friend such as you," Gai burst out. Beside him, Tsunade eyed the pink-haired girl curiously, and watched her hand even more curiously.

"Naruto," he turned to his last student, "you have finally learned the meaning of patience. I was extremely surprised when you _weren't _in that original barrage of clones. You usually charge ahead within your clones, and I've always thought that was slightly useless. But with Sakura's plan, you've managed to turn your B-rank kage bunshin no jutsu into something truly formidable."

"Good work, kid," Jiraiya slapped the back of his student's shoulder, "its not a small thing to be able to make someone like Kakashi-kun tired."

"Mou…I'm not tired," Kakashi protested, "my chakra is still decent. I was just caught by surprise."

"And what a surprise that was," Anko smirked, "you're walking a little stiffly, senpai."

"That never happened," Kakashi told her seriously.

"Well, that was a good show," Tsunade informed them, "Shizune and I are going to head out to the hospital to meet with the iryounin council. But first…"

She walked up to Sakura, who was still working on Kakashi's shoulder, and glared openly, putting her hands on her hips.

"That," Tsunade declared, "is the most _pitiful _Shousen I have ever laid eyes on! Who taught you how to do that and how do I fire them?"

**ooooo**

**Note: The Gedo Mazo's cave is located in Kawa no Kuni. This was the one with the five-corner seal that Sakura broke into.**


	25. The Story of Rin

**Chapter 25 – The Story of Rin & Gaara's Will**

"I think he's being _extra _late just to avoid it," Sakura commented.

Although team seven now consisted of two chunin and two jonin, they still felt the need to meet up in the mornings to train together. Even Sasuke still dragging his sour morning face into training ground seven and managed a 'good morning'. Usually, team training was only done under a jonin-sensei, but the three still saw Kakashi and their 'sensei', even though he was now Naruto and Sakura's senpai and Sasuke's equal in terms of rank.

"I will personally drag him from that memorial myself if this goes on for too long," Sasuke grumbled.

Naruto decided that if it came to that, he would have to stop him. For the first time in a long while, Kakashi had left the apartment _before _him. When Gai had come by asking for his Eternal Rival, Naruto had peeked out the door with his bowl of ramen and informed him that Kakashi had already headed out, and that he probably wouldn't be joining the other jonin for breakfast.

And so Naruto had stopped near the memorial before getting to the training grounds. On a normal day, Kakashi was enough of an amazing tracker to sense him immediately, but today the jonin genuinely hadn't known he was there.

He had been too busy talking quietly but excitedly to the stone, relaying to his old friend how his team had done with him what they had never been able to do with Minato-sensei, and that he regretted not showing as much teamwork as his own students did.

It had been a private moment, and Naruto lost the heart to eavesdrop when Kakashi began speaking about how he would tell his students about Rin.

All he had heard was that 'they all deserved to know'. That had been enough.

"He's coming," Naruto told his two teammate, "he's just explaining out test yesterday."

At this, Sakura's look softened and even Sasuke lost his frown.

"It must be hard for him," Sasuke finally commented, "but I won't let that get in the way. Some people say it's therapeutic, you know."

"Not _some _people, Sasuke-kun," Sakura corrected, "it _is _therapeutic. It's good to talk about things."

Sasuke looked to be on the verge of arguing, but at that moment they heard a shuffle in the leaves. All three of them turned around to see their sensei coming out of the trees he had been running across.

"Sorry I'm late," he began as usual, "I found an old friend and I danced for him."

Naruto was beginning to see the double-entendres of his sensei's excuses.

"So today we get our prize for working ourselves sore in defeating you," Sasuke grinned, "first, tell me the truth about the Mangekyou Sharingan. All I've ever heard were rumors and what my brother told me, and I wouldn't trust him."

Kakashi sighed. He patted down the grass next to them and settled down on it, sitting cross-legged and giving Sasuke a baleful look, "you really never give up once you have your sights set on something, do you?"

"Never," the Uchiha boy stated firmly. That was something that had never changed in him. Except now, when he wasn't an s-rank missing-nin with a love of vengeance, it was endearing. It was a good trait.

"It…helps to talk about things," Sakura added uncertainly.

Naruto watched the mix of emotions on his sensei's face quietly. They weren't particularly strong emotions. It was like he was trying to decide between annoyance and boredom, but the truth had already been revealed that morning at the memorial.

"Do you want Naruto and Sakura to know all the secrets of your doujutsu?" Kakashi asked blankly.

At that, Naruto knew he was testing him. The Sasuke of the past would have tried to conserve the secrecy because it was good for him. If less people knew about the Mangekyou-

"I don't care," Sasuke declared, "if Sakura ever turned on me, I'd drag her to a psychiatrist myself."

"Oh?" Kakashi raised an eyebrow, "why Sakura in particular? Why not Naruto?"

"Well, it's not like _Naruto _is going to betray me," the Uchiha boy huffed, as if the sentence was obvious.

Kakashi stared blankly, not understanding, "Naruto has become quite the powerful young shinobi-"

"It's not about that," Sasuke waved a hand in dismissal, "have you seen the way this dobe acts around me? Ever since that day of the bell test, it's been 'be my friend' this and 'be my friend' that. I'd like to see you _try_ making _him _turn on me."

Ah. So he _had _noticed Naruto's over-protectiveness. Kakashi smiled under his mask.

"Oi! I just though we could be friends, that's all!" Naruto protested, slightly embarrassed at being found out.

"You have to admit, Naruto," Sakura said dryly, "that day when I dragged you to the training grounds, you acted like Sasuke was some long lost brother or something. If it hadn't been _you _I would have been worried about competition-"

"Congratulations, sensei," Sasuke drawled, "you've succeeded in changing the topic."

Kakashi sighed, "alright, alright. Well, the Mangekyou Sharingan is a special type of eye, one step beyond the Sharingan. It is known to be able to perform one of the ultimate genjutsu, although even I don't know what it is. What I do know of are two powerful weapons that this eye can help you use," he held up one finger.

"First, there is the Amaterasu. This is not exactly a hidden technique, but only those who had ties to the Uchiha knew of it. It takes a great amount of chakra to use, but with it you can produce black flames that never die out until the target is burned down. Naruto has seen me use this before."

The others turned to look at Naruto, who shrugged, "sensei used it in the battle against the Shodai. It was really cool. I mean, he cried tears of blood."

"Tears…of blood?" Sakura cringed.

"Of course. Why cry normally when you can be much more dramatic and make blood pour from your tear ducts?" Kakashi suggested, "the reason my eye was so strained was because using it with only one eye took up a lot of chakra."

"What are the other weapons?" Sasuke pressed.

"There is one known as Susano'o, a giant monster of chakra that can shield its user from almost any blow. This one is rarely revealed, and I only know of it from some close ties I had in the past. I cannot use this because I only have one Mangekyou, and it would take a ridiculous amount for chakra for me," he went on, "the final genjutsu technique…I don't know anything about it, really."

"I see," the Uchiha boy muttered, deep in thought.

"You all already know that I received my Sharingan from Obito. My third teammate, Nohara Rin, she was the one who transplanted it into me," Kakashi told them, "she was our medic."

At this, Sakura perked up, wanting to know more about Rin in particular. She seemed to be convinced that she had been his lover.

"She was my last remaining teammate," he went on, now staring across the grounds at a tree on the other side, "so I was close to her. And that's what the Mangekyou wants, I think. It wants you to witness the death of the person closest to you, and those emotions are what causes the Mangekyou to awaken."

"What happened?" Sasuke asked softly. He was perfectly aware of the old wounds he was opening, but he refused to back down. It wasn't because he was being cruel, it was just that he had suffered just as much, and felt like he had the right do ask.

"Sometime…later on, we had a…mission. And during this mission, Rin was kidnapped and…forcibly turned into a Jinchuuriki," he said simply.

"Jin…chuuriki?" Sakura asked, "I've heard of that term before, but I'm not sure _exactly _what it means."

Naruto gulped.

"Do you know of the bijuu?" Kakashi asked her.

"Yes. Like the one that almost destroyed Konoha fifteen years ago," she nodded, "there are nine of them, and they are creatures made of pure chakra."

"Correct. A Jinchuuriki…is a person that a bijuu is sealed into," their sensei began, "all the chakra gets locked into the person, preventing the beast from releasing itself."

"So a Jinchuuriki is like a seal container for chakra creatures," Sasuke nodded.

"Yes, I suppose," Kakashi went on, "they are people who go through great pain in order to protect the rest of us from the bijuu's damage. Many of them are silent heroes," he said softly.

Naruto sat in silence. He hadn't been all too sure if his teammates knew about the Jinchuuriki, but it seemed they didn't. This time around, he had never been on a mission with them that forced him to release the Kyuubi, so they still hadn't known.

What struck him most were Kakashi's words. The beast sealed inside Naruto was the one who had killed his sensei; it would be all too easy to see him as a demon. Or even if he had seen Naruto normally, it would be too easy to slip into a different view when talking about Kurama. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that Kurama was trying to help them, and that this time his sensei had been exposed to Jinchuuriki like B, whose bijuu was fully cooperative.

"So they turned Rin into one of these people?" Sakura questioned, "what did they want to seal inside her?"

"The Sanbi," Kakashi replied, "it happened during the war, when Kirigakure was Konoha's enemy. You see, a Jinchuuriki is only stable when the bijuu is sealed at a young age, when their chakra is flexible and adaptable. When the sealing process happens at a later age…the seal will eventually break, and the bijuu will escape."

"So…she died when it escaped?" Sasuke prodded slowly.

"No, that wasn't it. I really shouldn't be telling you this…but it's all over now, so it shouldn't be dangerous for you to know," he sighed, "they planned to seal the bijuu inside Rin, and allow the Konoha jonin to rescue her. Once they had rescued her and taken her back to the village, the seal would break and the Sanbi would be released in the village. Konoha would be destroyed from the inside."

Sasuke stayed quiet for a while, contemplating and biting in the inside of his cheek, when he looked up, his eyes were still full of questions, "that didn't happen, though."

"No. I was one of the jonin sent to rescue her and she knew of Kiri's plans. While I was fighting many of the jonin from Kiri, she…," he paused for a moment. His voice was perfectly still and unwavering, but there was a hint of doubt. It was as if he was asking himself what on earth he was doing. Sasuke and Sakura sat silently to wait for him to continue.

"I was using my Chidori," he went on after a few seconds, "and she ran into my path to die. I ended up killing her with it."

Sasuke's eyes widened. He remembered his first lesson in the technique, where Kakashi had made him solemnly promise that he would never use it on a friend. The unusual intensity in his sensei's eyes back then made sense now.

"She…was brave," was Sakura's only comment.

"Yes, she was."

ooooo

"He's been out for a while with that eye," B started, "and Kousuke too, let's go an' say hi," he sat up from the mat and brushed himself off.

"It's true…" Utakata muttered, "it's been fifteen minutes. It shouldn't take that long to find them," they had been sitting inside talking about Kisame skills while Gaara went out to locate the enemy. He followed B to the window, waiting as his combat partner slipped out.

B stood still outside the window, blocking the view.

"B-san, move. I need to get out," Utakata pushed him to one side and lifted his blue kimono to swing one leg over the window. Slipping completely outside, he peered out from behind B's shoulder and stilled.

"That's…" his eyes grew wide as he looked at the wet sand on the ground nearby.

"Gaara's sand, kono yaro," B said in a low voice, "he's been taken, baka yaro"

"No! Did they escape with him?" Utakata ran over to kneel down near the pile of wet sand, "they must have poured water over him to make his Armor heavy. But…how could he let that happen? He's so strong, he should have been able to avoid that…" Even without the use of his tailed beast, Sabaku no Gaara had appeared to Utakata as someone who had simply radiated natural power. His commanding Kazekage tone had simply added to the image of him as a powerful shinobi.

"Not when I was watching, he wasn't," a new voice stated. Both Jinchuuriki turned sharply to see a figure poking his head out of the window of the inn room next to theirs. The blue figure grinned and swung his legs out of the window, stopping a few meters in front of them with his black cloak swirling, "I think he was breaking down actually. We didn't even need to do anything. We saw him trying to control the sand demon while partially transformed, and decided to take the opportunity."

"Where's Uchiha Itachi?" Utakata demanded, feeling a sort of anger rise up within him at the man speaking so casually of Gaara's demise. If they didn't need to do anything, that meant Gaara had lost control while using his chakra. And _he _had been the one to allow him to use the Third Eye….

"Oh? You were aware that _he_ was here?" Kisame smirked, "how interesting."

Utakata gritted his teeth even as B pulled out two of his seven swords behind him, holding them menacingly in front. He knew that he shouldn't have revealed that, and he could only hope that B took out Kisame before he had the chance to report it to the other Akatsuki members.

"He's long gone, I think," Kisame replied casually, "you don't have time to be worried about the Ichibi's boy, he's probably half sealed already. You see, we have someone with us who had a knack for..._speeding up the process_. Right now, you have your own lives to protect," the grin revealed pointed teeth which were definitelynot human.

"You'll be taken down, kono yaro!" B stated, stepping in front of Utakata, "by Kumo's Killer B, that's me!"

"Oh? Who's this idiot?" Kisame smirked, "could this be the Jinchuuriki of Kumo's Hachibi?"

"Where did Itachi take Gaara?" Utakata asked, trying to sound threatening. He desperately hoped that the Akatsuki member would at least humor him, "you're no match for both of us."

"I'm aware," Kisame stated lazily, "but you see, I have to go help with the rest of the sealing, so I can't stay and fight you."

"We won't let you go, kono yaro!" B lunged at him with three of his seven swords, the third clutched in his mouth.

Kisame jumped away from him, landing a few meters back. Utakata took out his bubble blower, prepared to help in the combat. He couldn't release Saiken's power in this small village, but he wasn't useless without it.

"I told you," the blue-skinned Akatsuki member began, "I'm not going to fight you," he reached into his cloak and B jumped back, holding his swords in defense. Kisame slowly drew out a single scroll, and held it by its tip, allowing the paper to unfold.

"This," he stated, "is what you will be fighting. I'll come back and retrieve you when you've been weakened. Not the most exciting of battles for me, but I'm needed elsewhere," he chuckled, "besides, I've been told that this particular weapon is _perfect _to use against you."

They both watched warily as Kisame dropped the scroll to the ground, raising one blue hand. He slammed it down into the reverse circular base of the scroll, and lines began to extend from his fingers and spread across the seal paper.

"Kuchiose: Edo Tensei!" He yelled, moving back quickly as a puff of chakra erupted from the scroll.

Utakata and B watched in horror as a man emerged from the paper, standing in front of them with a completely emotionless face. The first things they noticed were his eyes, which had very familiar dark sclera.

"Hachibi-san, Rokubi-san," Kisame stated in his strangely wavering voice, "let me introduce you to the Sandaime Raikage, who once drew against the Hachibi itself in his human body. Of course, this body is far from human…who knows what more he can do?"

Utakata felt the fear growing within him, slowing rising up as he looked at the reanimated kage. It had taken all their combined efforts to bring the Shodai down. This Raikage did not have the same legacy, but he didn't need to. If he remembered correctly, the Edo Tensei meant that he would regenerate, which was why Naruto had to use a seal during that battle.

"B-san," Utakata whispered, "we cannot defeat this person without a seal…"

"I know, baka yaro," B stated, keeping his swords in their defensive position, "I've heard about him, the Raikage who kept Gyuki on the brim."

"He's been instructed to capture you, Have fun, Jinchuuriki-san," Kisame state, voice fluctuating as he slowly disappeared from his spot.

B and Utakata looked at the reanimated kage with dread. Nearby, an old man who lived in the village had paused and was giving them a strange look.

"Go!" he yelled at the old man, "tell everyone to get out of they'll be killed!"

The civilian man's eyes widened as he processed this, but he remained in his spot, simply staring at the two Kumo nin, whose darker skin and fair hair were extremely uncommon in the small country of Kawa.

"We have to go to Gaara, B-san," Utakata's voice grew slightly higher, "we can't leave him, and we won't be able to fight this reanimation either."

At that moment, he felt a small tug on his leg. He spun around quickly to see a small red toad, panting and breathless on the ground.

"Kousuke!" He exclaimed while B kept an eye on their opponent, "what are you doing here?!"

"Found…red…boy…follow," the toad struggled to say between his panting. He looked like he had been running long and hard. A sheen of sweat shone on his warty red skin.

"Kousuke knows where Gaara is," he informed the other man, "let's go."

B nodded firmly. He kept his swords up in defense as the two backed away and began to turn and run. Utakata swept Kousuke up to hold him, preparing his bubble blower to create his Shabondama no Jutsu. The large, thick bubble would be able to carry them through the air to where Kousuke was pointing.

That moment, he heard a crash behind him.

"Watch out!"

He shielded his face with his blue kimono sleeve and then peered out of it to see that the Raikage had attacked with a punch, and his fist was infused with chakra. One of B's tentacles was clasped around it, struggling to hold it away from his body.

"B-san!" He yelled, bubble blower pausing near his mouth. He felt the sweat gather on his forehead as he was torn between rescuing Gaara and helping his combat partner.

"Go, kono yaro!" B yelled, Gyuki's tentacle still grasped around the Raikage's fist, "Gaara's in trouble, baka yaro!"

Utakata hesitated, bubble blower in one and had Kousuke in the other, "don't try to defeat him, B-san! Run away as soon as I'm out of range!"

"Got it, Utakata!" The Kumo nin turned back for a split second to give him a smile, "save Gaara, yeah?" He put one fist out behind him.

Utakata wondered how on _earth _B felt that _this _was a time for a display of friendship, but he hesitantly put out his own fist and bumped it against the other man's larger one.

"Head out to Konoha," the Kiri nin instructed, "that's where I'll go because…I don't know what shape Gaara will be in. I'll…find Tsunade of the Sannin, she apparently returned with Naruto. She'll be able to cure him," he took one last look at his friend before putting the blower to his mouth and pushing air imbued with chakra into it. Behind him, he heard another crash as the Raikage attacked again, and this time all eight tentacles sprung from B's back, held out in front as he pushed the man back until Utakata was safely out of the way.

He stepped into the bubble with Kousuke still held tightly in one hand, using his chakra to lift off at the fastest speed he could go. While he flew out through the air, he looked back worriedly to see that sparks were flying between B and the Raikage. He slowly took a deep breath. He was the calm one, he was _not _going to be agitated. Saving Gaara required a clear head, not one messy with thoughts.

"That way," Kousuke instructed from Utakata's hand, pointing one finger down a ridge below, "just follow that crack where you can see all the tree roots. It'll lead to a cave, and the cloaked one went inside with the boy."

"Right," Utakata nodded, "what condition was Gaara in when he was being taken away? Was he bleeding? Injured?" he kept his voice stern, not allowing it to waver.

"No, nothing like that," the toad replied, "he was wet from where the cloaked one had dumped water on him. I saw that happening, and I was going to go back inside and inform you, but he was leaving so fast and I thought it would be better to track him first. He wasn't just running, he was doing something to increase his speed beyond what was normal."

"You did the right thing," the Kiri nin said firmly, "listen, as soon as I have Gaara, go back to where your summoner is located in Konoha and ask him to bring Tsunade-san to the rest stop outside of the village. I'll fly over with him in my bubble. I think if I add Saiken's chakra, it'll last longer and go faster," he stated.

_Saiken? I need your chakra, _Utakata told the beast within his mind.

_Leave your tenketsu points open, _the slug instructed, _I'll take over. _

_No, I need to use my jutsu to transport Gaara, _he stressed, _just lend me the chakra like we did before with Mizurapa. _

_Ah, I see, _the slug shifted around inside its seal dimension, _I'll leave myself open, then. _

Utakata nodded, and slowly loosened the control of his seal as he had practiced, allowing the Demon Slug's chakra to flow into him. As it entered his tenketsu, he used it to fortify the bubble and force it to go faster.

They sped along through the sky at that rate for almost fifteen minutes, and the worried former Kiri nin stared along the ground for any hint of a cave, following the crack in the land. Finally, he spotted it.

"Woah! Slow down!" Kousuke commented, "we're almost there, you'll go right past it at this rate!"

"Right," he released most of the chakra holding up the bubble and opened his eyes to look down. Right beneath him, among the rocky land where Kawa transitioned into Kaze, was a bulge in the ground.

"That's the cave that he went into," Kousuke stated, pointing at the bulge, "there's an entrance at the front, but it's like some kind of giant rock. It slid open for him, but there was a seal on top of it so I'm not sure how you can get in."

Utakata released the chakra in the bubble, allowing it to lower. They had travelled rather lower than he usually did. Escaping attention was not his first priority, and there were no other villages for at least a few kilometers around.

He leapt to the ground as the bubble popped, and stood in front of the entrance to the giant cave. It was a large stone surface like Kousuke had described.

_Saiken, _he called, _take over. _

_Right, _the slug nodded, and slowly inserted it's influence into his tenketsu. The familiar cloak of light blue chakra settled upon him as he looked straight forwards. Kousuke leapt out of his hands as chakra began to gather in them, coming together in a concentrated black ball.

"Bijuudama!" he yelled, allowing the black ball of chakra to rush from his hands. Saiken had sensed his worry and had made it much larger than usual. No mere stone could stop it.

When the bijuudama hit, he covered his face with the sleeve of his blue kimono to protect himself from the aftereffects of the blast. Confident that it had worked, he turned to enter the cave.

But the rock was still in place. Even the bijuudama had done absolutely no damage on it.

"There!" Kousuke pointed one of his toad fingers, "up on top!"

Utakata followed his line of sight to see a seal placed at the very top of the boulder.

"I…know nothing about fuuinjutsu," he admitted to the messenger toad.

"When then you're lucky that _I _am a toad of Mount Myoboku," Kousuke stated, "that is a barrier seal."

"Do I destroy it?" Utakata asked sharply, already preparing chakra in his hands for another bijuudama.

"No, you won't be able to destroy it. It is a five-corner barrier; there are four other seals like it that surround the place. There are two ways to remove the barrier," the toad began, "first, you can remove each seal at the exact same time, and then destroy the boulder. If not, you can draft the reverse seal and lay it on top, which will make the barrier unstable enough to enter easily."

"But…I don't have four other people!" Utakata finally yelled, losing his calm demeanor, "and I've never even drafted a paper bomb!" he tangled his fingers into his brown hair, feeling completely stressed, "how…how do I save Gaara? He's in there and they're taking away his chakra! People rarely survive bijuu extractions!"

At this, even Kousuke was silent, "I wish I could help you, I really do. But fuuinjutsu is mostly a human discipline, and I am only a messenger toad…"

ooooo

"_Child!" _yelled the voice in his head, _"wake up! Mother is being taken away once again!"_

Gaara barely had the presence of mind to process the words, let alone wake up. He was in the dimension of the seal, he could sense that much. The illusory sand that his body was resting in confirmed it. The sand covered the ground of the seal's dimension; the remnants of the wall he had put up to protect himself against Shukaku.

He opened his eyes, but not his real ones. Inside the dimension of the seal, he saw brown fur above him. The brown fur of the Tanuki.

His illusory eyes snapped open and he pushed himself onto his elbows, slipping in the sand. Above him was Shukaku, green eyes with their gold crosses glaring into him. All around the Demon Tanuki were…blue hands. The blue hands were tangled into her brown fur, pulling it.

Gaara turned to one side to see that Shukaku's cage as been destroyed along with the wall of sand he had put up. The far walls of the cage melded into the ground, the confusion result of his mindscape. He turned to the other side to see that the blue arms were coming out of the dark tunnel that lead the other way.

"_There…is no blood in that place! I have been there before! Wake up!" _Shukaku growled at him.

But there was no way to do so. Even in his seal's dimension, he could feel the chakra slowly ebbing away from him. Shukaku's tail had already been completely captured, and the rest of her body was slowly following. The giant Tanuki was being drawn in by the hands of the Gedo Mazo.

"_Wake up and fight! Give me their blood!" _Came Shukaku's voice again, louder as she leaned down to peer at her jailer with her multicolored eye.

Gaara tried to respond that he couldn't, but he no longer had enough energy to even remain propped up on his elbows. With a sigh, he fell back. But even though his body was still, his mind was whirring with thoughts. If she had not wanted this fate. Then she should have cooperated with him earlier.

It seemed that most of his bijuu had already been sealed. There was nothing he could do for that, and Utakata and B would probably not rescue him midway through, that was too optimistic.

A piercing growl almost deafened him as the last of the blue hands clasped themselves over Shukaku's head, drawing the Demon Tanuki away from him. Gaara turned his head to the side and watched her go, the 'mother' that he had been cursed with. The beast went screaming and thrashing, until it finally disappeared, and the full extent of the chakra loss began to hit him.

Gaara gritted his teeth. He had been though this once, this time he would come out alive. If he was unable to fight, then he would at least _survive._

ooooo

The stone was unbreakable.

Utakata had gone ahead and thrown five more bijuudama at it despite Kousuke's protests that it would do nothing, and the stupidity of it had finally hit him when he began to feel the first twinges of chakra loss.

He sat down cross legged on the ground before the stone and placed his hands on either knee. He took a deep breath, and delved into thought.

There was no way to enter the cave without knowledge of fuuinjutsu or four other people with communication devices. That cut out the option of barging in and rescuing him.

He briefly put all his emotions aside and considered returning to B, but he knew that the other man was much stronger than him. He had faith in his ability to get away, and he had already told him to head to Konoha. If he went back now, he could be left to face the reanimated Raikage by himself. Returning was not the best plan.

He could wait until Uchiha Itachi came out and demand where Gaara was. He frowned. It was clear that even with his B-rank jonin abilities and modest control of Saiken's chakra, the Uchiha prodigy who had taken out his entire clan would probably beat him. But…Naruto had already informed him about Itachi's true motivations during the massacre. Maybe he could use that against him.

Then again, the man was a member of the Akatsuki. Even if the deaths of his clan members were not on his hands, he had no direct relation to Utakata, and he had probably killed many more people after becoming a missing-nin.

"Utakata?" Kousuke asked, "what are you doing?"

"Thinking," he told the toad, keeping his tone neutral, "but it doesn't seem to be something I'm terribly good at." It was a pity because with B providing most of the power behind their partnership, he should have been able to provide the intellect.

Over fifteen minutes of thinking later, he was still in the same dilemma.

_I would ask you to let me out completely and allow a full transformation, _Saiken suggested, _but that would definitely kill you. You're a rather low-reserve one for a Jinchuuriki. I don't know what they were thinking when they chose you as my container. Shukaku was always a little bloodthirsty, but I think she's been insane for a long time now. _

_If you don't have anything to add, _Utakata informed his beast between gritted teeth, _then keep quiet. _

But he knew that there was nothing he could do for the time being. Utakata opened his eyes and stood up slowly.

"Once they're done," he began, "will the barrier collapse? Will I be able to enter?"

"Only if they take it down," Kousuke told him.

He gritted his teeth again, "I…can't do _anything_."

"Don't be so hard on yourself," the toad said, looking a little worried, "it takes either a fuuinjutsu master or a group of people to break into something like this."

"Your summoner is a fuuinjutsu master, isn't he?" Utakata thought suddenly, "how long will this extraction take?"

"I'm not exactly sure," Kousuke admitted, "but normally it _should _take a few days to extract the chakra of a tailed beast. Keep in mind that the process cannot be stopped once it's starte-"

"Go get Jiraiya-san, then," Utakata said sternly, "ask him to come here."

"Wait," the toad protested, "remember what that blue person said? They found some way to make the process faster, almost half of it had apparently been completed in thirty minutes. We've spent almost thirty minutes here, so-"

His words were cut off when the stone began to rumble. Utakata unconsciously allowed Saiken to take control of his chakra and the blue shroud fell over him. Kousuke wisely leapt to hide behind his feet.

He watched warily as the stone began to shift to the side, opening to reveal the entrance into the cave.

As the stone moved completely out of the way, a lone figure stood in the middle of the wide entrance. Uchiha Itachi's face was expressionless as he stared across at the Jinchuuriki covered in a cloak of blue chakra. In his arms was Gaara, unconscious.

"Give him back," Utakata said loudly, slowly gathering chakra in one hand.

Itachi gave him a strange look, "This boy is suffering extreme chakra loss, and I do not see any world-class iryounin nearby," he commented, looking completely unfazed at the beginning of the bijuudama, "although I'm aware that you do have one on your side. You are the Jinchuuriki of the Rokubi?"

"Give Gaara back," Utakata said once again. The bijuudama was ready in his hand, but he didn't risk attacking, in case he hit Gaara as well.

"I will give him to you in return for one answer," Uchiha Itachi stated simply.

"Get away," Kousuke advised from behind his foot, "Jiraiya tells me that only one person has ever been able to survive a bijuu extraction."

"What is the question?" Utakata asked warily. He kept his guard up.

"Who is the one leading you to attack us?" Itachi asked, "keep in mind that I will know if you lie."

Utakata paused, his mind whirring. There were many possible answers that he could give without explicitly lying, as long as it was someone who knew about the time seal. They would be hunting the person whose name he gave, but he didn't even consider refusing to answer. If it would give him Gaara…then he would just have to make sure whoever he stated was well protected.

"Will you answer?"

Jiraiya was one possibility, but he was always travelling. There would be too many opportunities to find him. Itachi had already met Naruto, and knew that the boy did not have the brains to be able to lead them, and neither did B. So he blurted out the first other name that came to mind.

"Hatake Kakashi!"

ooooo

"Tsunade! Hurry!"

Senju Tsunade looked up from where she was collapsed on Shizune's couch, a hospital scroll in one hand. Her former teammate was standing at the door, having barged his way in and broken the lock. His white hair was frazzled around his face and he was panting, as if he had run a long way. Right behind him was one of his red toads, equally out of breath.

"Jiraiya? What is i-"

Before she had time to answer, his hand was around her arm. She began to protest, but he roughly opened the window and leapt out, dragging her with him.

"What are you doing?!" She hissed, trying to free her arm from Jiraiya's grip as he ran down the streets of Konoha with the toad following after them.

"It's an emergency, hime, please!"

The desperation in his voice was enough to make her stop trying to pull away. She frowned and ran faster, keeping up with his speed.

"One of my toads came to me just now," he said while they ran, "Gaara's injured…chakra loss…rest stop."

Upon hearing the word 'injured', Tsunade had almost turned back to retrieve Shizune from the hospital, but she sighed in relief when he mentioned the chakra loss. _That, _she could handle.

They reached the rest stop in record time. Izumo and Kotetsu, who were at the gate, had frowned at them as they ran by. However, it was a universal fact that the sannin could go where they wanted.

"Where is Gaara?" She asked immediately once they were at the stop. She slammed the wooden door open, but no one was inside.

"Utakata is…bringing him…here," the toad panted, "it should…take…a few more minutes. I…travelled with him…for a while…to direct."

Jiraiya stood up straight and drummed his fingers against his pant leg, "what happened, Kousuke?"

"That boy Gaara…was taken," the toad managed, "they…extracted the bijuu."

Tsunade stilled with shock and Jiraiya frowned deeply.

"Is he still alive?" She demanded, crossing her arms.

"Uchiha Itachi hinted that he was, he was being very careful with the boy," Kousuke replied, having caught his breath, "but he'll need treatment."

"Uchiha…Itachi?" Jiraiya asked, eyes widening.

"No time to answer, they're here," Kousuke stated, peering out of the window of the building.

Tsunade and Jiraiya rushed outside to see a large bubble floating in the air, glowing with light blue chakra. Their eyes widened as the man inside, Utakata, looked down and saw them. In his arms was Gaara, pale and unconscious. Then the bubble burst.

Jiraiya rushed to break Utakata's fall while Tsunade caught Gaara and laid him down where he was, immediately putting her hands to his chest.

"It seems that the Rokubi's Jinchuuriki has used his bijuu's chakra to make that bubble go faster and travel higher. He was able to cover two days of travel within an hour," Jiraiya commented, "he's exhausted, but the bijuu will heal him," he looked around, "I don't see the Hachibi's Jinchuuriki though…"

Tsunade did not respond. She was focused on checking if the boy was alive.

"How is he, hime?" The toad sannin asked, coming to peer over her shoulder and look worriedly at the boy he had spent three months travelling with.

"He's hanging in there," Tsunade muttered, "not good, barely alive. But it's amazing. I thought Kushina would be the only one to ever survive a bijuu extraction, due to her vast reserves."

"He's experienced it before, so his mind knows how to adapt how to make the best use of his remaining chakra to keep alive," Jiraiya explained, "while he was briefing Yugito on Sasori and Deidara, he mentioned that they had captured him and extracted his bijuu. Although, he died afterwards, and had to use some resurrection jutsu."

"Resilience of time, eh?" Tsunade said grimly. She paused the green chakra for a moment to roll up her sleeves.

"Jiraiya, take the other one and get out of here," she instructed.

"You know, hime, I've seen you without that-" He attempted.

"Just get out! I'll keep going until he's stable," Tsunade interrupted, "it's extreme chakra loss, I need to use _that_."

The toad sannin sighed and dutifully swung Utakata over one shoulder. He leapt out of the rest stop and walked a few more meters through the forest. Reaching the river, he set Utakata down on the soil of the bank and splashed river was over his face.

The man winced as the cold water was poured on him, and slowly opened his eyes. He peered blearily around at the trees on one side and the river flowing on the other.

"Utakata, right?" A voice called. He managed to tiredly sit up and look and the toad sage crouched beside him.

"Yes," he replied, "and you are…Jiraiya of the Sannin?"

"That's me," he grinned, "it's hard to _not _recognize me. Where's Killer B?"

Utakata sighed deeply, "he was fighting the Sandaime Raikage in a small village close to the north of Kawa. He said he'd leave and come to Konoha as soon as possible. Seeing as he seems to know about this Raikage's abilities, I believe he will be able to get away safely."

"The Sandaime…Raikage?" Jiraiya frowned.

"Yes, a reanimation. They've begun using the Edo Tensei," Utakata nodded, wet brown hair clinging to his face.

"Well, at least we know where dear old Orochimaru is now…but I can't imagine him willingly helping the Akatsuki," Jiraiya sighed, "did you manage to take out Kisame?"

"No, he left the Edo Tensei with us and went to help with Gaara's sealing," Utakata reported, "I think they all use some kind of teleportation jutsu to transfer their chakra signatures into the cave where they extract the beast, because Itachi was the only one physically there," he looked down, "and I wasn't able to do anything to stop it. They had some sort of…five-corner barrier seal set upon the cave."

"Ah, I see. Even I wouldn't interrupt a bijuu extraction half way through. There's the risk of setting the beast free," Jiraiya told him, "how did you get Gaara back, then?"

"I think…Itachi kept him alive as a bargaining piece," Utakata said softly, refusing to meet his eyes, "he offered to exchange Gaara for an answer to his question."

At this, the toad sannin's eyes narrowed, "what was it?"

"He asked me who was leading us in attacking the Akatsuki," Utakata bit his lip, "I…wasn't sure who to implicate, but I knew that you and Tsunade-san travel too much and are open targets, and he would never believe me if I stated that it was B or Naruto. So I told him that it was Kakashi-san."

"That's fine. Out of all of us, he's the one that is most frequently safe inside the village," Jiraiya nodded, "he's also has his Sharingan and is best at fighting genjutsu, so he should be able to hold his own for a while against Itachi."

Utakata sighed in relief, "that is wonderful to hear. I was afraid that I had made a large mistake."

"Kakashi-kun has one heck of a bounty on his head," Jiraiya remarked dryly, "he's used to being targeted."

ooooo

"Mou…how troublesome," Hatake Kakashi sighed, "now I'll have him after me too…"

"I am truly sorry, Kakashi-san," Utakata told him guiltily, "I didn't know who else to say."

"Don't worry, I knew what I was getting into when I agreed to fight Akatsuki members," Kakashi waved it off, "and I'm usually prone to bad luck anyway."

They were gathered inside the apartment, where Jiraiya had snuck Utakata in. No one in the village knew who he was, and his blue kimono and lack of a hitai-ite made in very inconspicuous.

"Where is Tsunade baa-chan now?" Naruto spoke up. He desperately wanted to go see his friend, but Kakashi and Jiraiya and reassured him over and over that the Suna boy would be fine in Senju's Tsunade's care. He had repeatedly cursed the resilience of time until Utakata had quietly told him that Gaara would probably be much better off with Shukaku gone, even if that meant giving another bijuu to their enemy.

"She's still looking after Gaara," Jiraiya sighed, "and she's trying to give him some of her seal chakra. The concentration needed requires her to drop her aging jutsu for a little while, so none of us are allowed to go near until he's stable."

"I think Itachi knows about her," Utakata told him, "he said that he knew we had a world-class iryounin on our side. That's why he was confident in using Gaara as a bargaining tool.

"He probably found out about her from Sasori's death. Apparently hime tried to turn in his wooden head to collect his bounty," Jiraiya informed them, leaning back against the arm of the couch.

"Oh? How did that go?" Kakashi inquired.

"You know our hime. Money just doesn't like to be anywhere near her," the toad sannin shrugged, "but I believe Gaara will be ok. B-san should be here in two to three days time."

"I've asked him to go to that little wooden shed," Utakata added, "After Tsunade-san is finished, I'll go stay there with Gaara and wait for him." He cast another guilty look at Kakashi, who was rubbing his head sheepishly, not knowing how to soothe his guilt.

"Yes, that would be wise," Jiraiya nodded, "I'll bring you food. Did you know that Naruto here aims to make ramen the national food of Konoha once he becomes Hokage?..."

ooooo

"Sakura! Sasuke!"

"Sakura-san!"

The two teammates paused in their taijutsu spar and turned to see Lee, Tenten and Neji coming towards them, with the older kunoichi dragging the Hyuga boy by his arm.

"Tenten!" Sakura exclaimed. The two had become good friends over the years. Sakura saw her as an older, experienced weapons genius who had become jonin at seventeen. Tenten saw a younger girl who reminded her of her hardworking teammate Lee, and approved of her immediately.

"We came by after training to ask what you how you did during your test yesterday," she stated.

"Well, we lost on time, but we were _really _close. Naruto was being an idiot and didn't grab the bells when he had the chance," Sakura explained sheepishly.

"We won," Sasuke stated impassively, "even sensei admitted it."

"And yet your teammate contradicts you…" Tenten trailed off.

"Ch," Sasuke turned to focus the full extent of his signature Uchiha glare on her.

The other jonin seemed completely unfazed. She went over to Sasuke and patted the boy's head, "I've been dealing with Neji here since I was ten," she informed him seriously, "I can handle _your _killer-intent any day, _Sasuke-kun_."

The Uchiha decided to ignore her, and turned his glare towards Neji, who felt perfectly comfortable glaring back.

"Gai-sensei has informed us of your amazing youthfulness, Sakura-san!" Lee exclaimed, "you must come train with us some day!"

"Please, Lee, spare her," Tenten muttered.

"No thank you," Sakura told him, "your training style is very different from mine. Most of my routine revolves around strength."

"But…you will get bulky! Taijutsu training must not involve too much strength!" Lee complained, slightly scandalized. Gai-sensei had informed him many times that too much strength training would cut from his speed.

"No I won't," she told him, "typical training styles don't work on me because there aren't many female taijutsu masters. Kashi-sensei designed my routine for me."

"Well that's enough of the taijutsu-jargon," Neji cut in, "how did you almost take the bells?" He momentarily turned away from Sasuke's glare.

"Well…Sasuke-kun shocked sensei with his own version of a technique that was supposed to be lethal," the pink haired girl explained, "so he was moving out of the way and open for attack, and Naruto went after the bells."

"And then?…" Neji raised an eyebrow.

"That dobe turned it into a _kancho_," Sasuke said between gritted teeth, "we _exhausted_ our chakra giving him the _perfect _opportunity and he decided to do a kancho instead!"

Neji winced and even Tenten gave him a pitying look.

"That…That too is a part of the Springtime of Youth," Lee declared.

"Poor sensei looked so…violated," Sakura sighed, "Oh look, the kancho master has arrived," she pointed towards the end of the grounds where Naruto had appeared.

"Oh! Bushy-brow sensei's students!" He exclaimed one he got closer. He turned to his teammates, "sorry I'm late for training. Kakashi-sensei and Ero-Sennin called me back to discuss some things."

"Ch, we're finished training," Sasuke stated, "I'm going to go see Anko-sensei."

"Eh? Why?" Naruto asked, confused, "I though you were finished learning the Snake Summoning?"

"Ch. She still has things to teach me," he looked away pointedly.

"Yeah, like how to throw dango sticks to make the Konoha symbol," Tenten said dryly.

"She may be the only human that Sasuke actually _likes _spending time with," Sakura giggled, "it's cute. It's like she's turning into his older sister. They get really creepy together when they're talking about revenge, though."

Sasuke gave her a glare, "I'll be going then. Don't be late for training tomorrow, dobe. I want to see how I can do against that sage mode of yours," he waved lightly before turning away."

"Revenge?" Naruto supposed that it probably was too much to hope that the Uchiha had temporarily given up on it…

"Yeah," Tenten winced, "they both have people that they used to love who betrayed them. It's fitting, really."

"Who did Anko-sensei like?" He questioned.

"Orochimaru-san, of course. The sannin who betrayed Konoha a while ago. He was the one who trained her," Sakura replied casually, as if it was obvious.

"Eh?!" Naruto backed away, thinking of the creepy snake sannin, "why him? She's a nice looking lady, even if she's a little scary…"

"According to her, he was good looking back when he was sane," Sakura explained.

Lee, who had been standing in silence, took the opportunity to change the topic.

"While I am here, I will bask in the sweat of Youth!" Lee yelled out in happiness, "I will take this opportunity to spar with the Youthful Flower Sakura-san!"

"Sure," Sakura grinned, stretching out her arms and letting her lean muscles relax, "Sasuke-kun is really good with ninjutsu and genjutsu and even bukijutsu, but I can't get a good taijutsu workout with him like with Kashi-sensei, and genjutsu is bad form in sparring and wouldn't work against his Sharingan anyway."

Naruto, Tenten, and Neji watched the two taijutsu users walk back into the training grounds. Lee was yelling in delight and Sakura was following calmly, stretching on the way.

"She has yet to beat him," Neji commented, "but considering that he's older, Sakura is doing quite well. Maybe I'll show her some of his most frequent attack patterns so I can watch him lose."

Coming from him it was akin to a declaration of infinite admiration.

"She's going to learn iryou-ninjutsu," Naruto told him happily, pride in his teammate showing clearly in his voice.

"Oh?" Tenten looked curious, "I heard she was picking some things up from Ino…"

"No, she has an actual teacher now," he corrected, "Tsunade baa-chan was watching her try to heal sensei's shoulder and decided it was so pitiful that she would have to remedy it. I think she was also kind of impressed with her strength. Baa-chan uses her chakra to punch right through rock, and that's something that Sakura-chan can learn easily with her control. She invited her over to where she's staying in Shizune nee-chan's apartment."

The resilience of time had struck again, and his baa-chan had gravitated towards Sakura immediately. Naruto had yet to tell her that Sakura had been her student in the future. He wanted to let things play out by themselves.

"_Tsunade_?" Neji inquired, "as in…the iryounin Tsunade of the Sannin?"

"Yup," Naruto nodded.

Tenten seemed to have stars in her eyes, "I _have _to ask her to introduce me! She's been my idol since I was a little girl."

"Really?" Naruto raised his eyebrows. In reality, he knew very little about Tenten. He didn't even know if she was from a shinobi family.

"Yeah! When I was six, and I had to leave the orphanage, this really kind lady who was going to choose my guardians asked me what I wanted to be," she went on wistfully, "but at the time I didn't know any shinobi at all, and I wasn't sure where I wanted to go. So one day she showed me a picture of Tsunade-sama and told me that she was incredibly powerful. She had helped turn the war, and she was known for being one of the most beautiful and kind kunoichi in the world. So I told her to put me with former shinobi guardians because I wanted to become just like Tsunade-sama and be recognized as a great kunoichi," she finished, still starry-eyed.

"Unfortunately, Tenten has no talent for iryou-ninjutsu," Neji remarked dryly. He had the look of someone who had heard this particular speech from his teammate many times.

"Oi Neji…" Naruto frowned.

"…but she has improved well, and is quite dedicated," the Hyuga boy conceded, "maybe some day she'll be recognized like she wants." There was a reason he hadn't kept in touch with the other graduates of his year. While Lee had broken ties from them because they had bullied him, Neji had hated them for treating him like an outsider, the 'genius'. Tenten – with her quiet dedication, determination to make friends, and perfectly-placed punchlines – had been a refreshing change.

Naruto smiled. Neji had certainly come a long way.

"So are you two trying to join the anbu?" He asked casually, remembering Sakura's words.

"I'm considering applying," Tenten admitted, "Neji would probably be admitted the moment he asks."

"Gai-sensei says they'll take you too," Neji added, "I know you specialize mainly in kunai and shuriken, but bukijutsu is important in the anbu. Most of them use tanto to fight silently," he turned to Naruto, "do you know anything about Kakashi-sensei's time in the anbu? I think that has something to do with why Gai-sensei is trying to change out minds."

"Well…the average lifespan of an anbu _is _five years…" the blond boy trained, rubbing his head, "I think Kashi-sensei joined because his entire team died and he saw it as the only option…"

"Ah, I see," Neji said, trying to look slightly sympathetic, "but I'd like to think we are more skilled than the _average _anbu."

"Anyways," Tenten went on, "Neji's getting rather boring to spar with. I know exactly where his blind spot is so he's always busy accounting for it, and he knows my style too well so he can practically read my moves. So I was thinking…"

Naruto backed away slowly from the older girl as she took out a pair of nun chucks.

**ooooo**

**Kancho is a prank done by little kids, and it's basically the One Thousand Years of Death. Don't bend over in front of little kids in japan.**


	26. The Uchiha's Mission

**Chapter 26 – The Uchiha's Mission**

"Who are you?" The deep voice of the Sandaime Raikage grumbled.

"Kumo's Killer B, yeah," B replied, leaping backwards and protecting himself with the tails.

"B? A's chosen brother?" He stood still as stone, and seeing that the lashes of Gyuki's tails had done nothing on him, he may as well have _been _stone.

"Jinchuuriki of the Hachibi, that's me," B nodded, holding his swords out for an attack.

"Put those twigs away," the Raikage said firmly, "they will do nothing against my armor. You are trying to run away, aren't you?"

"Yeah," B remembered that the Shodai had spoken to them as well. That probably meant that the voice truly belonged to the Raikage, and it was safe to listen to him. More importantly, he had heard various stories about this man from A. He was, above all, extremely protective of his village and comrades, and stood up against the Hachibi himself when it was released between Jinchuuriki.

He looked around warily at the inn building, and then around at the rest of the lone street, where a few people were beginning to peer out of their houses.

"Oi! Keep the noise down!" An old woman yelled, leaning out of the top window of her house in a frilly nightgown. B frowned; it would not be right to fight where so much destruction was possible.

_B! _Gyuki's voice yelled in his head, _I have fought this man before! Let me take over!_

_Go ahead, kono yaro, _B willingly released his control over his body. That fish man had mentioned that this Raikage had stood his own against the Hachibi, so Gyuki probably _did _know much more about him.

"Raikage!" Gyuki announced from B's throat, "tell me how to defeat your reanimation. If your summoner returns, there is a chance that Kumo will lose its most prized Jinchuuriki that you helped keep under control."

_Oi Gyuki, why are ya talking as if you're me? _B wondered. Having begun every battle in his lifetime by introducing himself to his enemy, _not _doing so was a novel concept.

_I've fought this man as enemies, _Gyuki growled, _he may refuse to help us if he knows it's me._

"There is only one way to pierce my Ultimate Shield," the Raikage explained, "it can only be done with my One-Fingered Nukite. That is the only thing that has ever given me a scar," he pointed to the large are of raised skin on his chest, "this is my life's shame, but it is a self-inflicted wound."

_So the spear is stronger than the armor, _Gyuki muttered, _if we do as he says and pierce it through, it will heal around the injury, making it more difficult to retrieve the arm. _

_No, baka yaro, _B protested, _the people are around, kono yaro. _

Gyuki sighed, _you're such a bleeding heart, B. Fine, I'll use my chakra to expel enough ink to cover the entire village. However, that might make it risky. If we're caught while running away, we will have to fight without that chakra. _

_Sounds good, _B mentally nodded, _let's do it, yeah._

"Are you going to just stand there?" The Sandaime asked, arms crossed over his muscular chest, "because I'm being instructed to attack."

"Do the One-Fingered Nukite," Gyuki advised, "we're ready."

The man narrowed his eyes, "if you get this wrong…"

"It's alright," the Hachibi said firmly, "I won't fail."

"Fine," he grumbled, "my instructive urges only force me to use four fingers, but I will use the more powerful technique myself. I hope you know what you are doing; I have worked to keep the Hachibi under control many times for the sake of my village, and I do not want that to be negated with my death."

Gyuki nodded and narrowed B's eyes, slowly surrounding himself with chakra. The blue shroud surrounded him even as the Sandaime Raikage put out his hand, four fingers held in front of him.

The four fingers turned to three.

Then two.

One.

Each Raikage in history was known for speed. It was something that came naturally to the element of Lightning. They could afford to bulk themselves up to the point of extreme, almost superhuman strength, and still contest the shunshin of an anbu.

The Sandaime was no different. The millisecond between revealing his One-Fingered Nukite and appearing with the attack held a meter from B's chest was almost imperceptible. Gyuki would not have seen it if he hadn't fought the man so many times.

An hour later, the people of the small village at the northern borders of Kawa no Kuni shook in fear at the sudden nighttime that had descended upon them, and blamed the two foreigners who had appeared in their streets.

ooooo

Tsunade did not come back inside the village that night.

A frazzled Shizune had told Sakura to come back the same time the next day because her shishou was busy with a busy with an emergency patient. Jiraiya had stayed up all night worrying and pacing around in Kakashi's apartment. He knew that it took a long time to cure something like extreme chakra loss took a long time to heal, but he couldn't help but worry for the little boy who he had played father-and-son with for over three months. He also worried about his old teammate, who had a tendency to overload herself.

Kakashi had suggested going out to check on her. Jiraiya had informed him that he liked his parts where they were.

Naruto had begun to worry when he returned to the apartment that night to hear that Gaara was still with Tsunade. He had gone to sleep hoping – not for the first time – that the resilience of time would pull through. Kurama had called him a hypocrite, but had grudgingly admitted that something like the death of the future Kazekage was unlikely to happen.

The next morning, Tsunade had appeared sheepishly in Kakashi's apartment without her green haori, and informed them that Gaara was recovering, and that she had been tired enough to fall asleep next to her patient.

"Do you have any idea how worried we were?!" Jiraiya erupted, standing right in front of her, "you forbid me to come anywhere close and then spend an entire _day _on your patient. I almost thought Gaara was too far gone and _you _were held down by chakra loss!"

"Maa, Jiraiya…" Tsunade waved her hands in front of her, "there's no need for that," she looked slightly touched at his concern, and slowly slipped around him and into the apartment, "Utakata-san is with Gaara right now. I hope that girl didn't think I was abandoning her…"

"It's fine, baa-chan," Naruto spoke up, slurping down ramen noodles for breakfast, "we told Shizune nee-chan and she was in her apartment all evening. Sakura-chan still _really _wants to train under you, especially now that she knows who you are."

"B-san should be here sometime today," Kakashi spoke up, "I think we should make plans on what to do."

"I'll provide seals for everybody and teach Utakata how to channel chakra into them," Jiraiya spoke up, "just in case they need it. But I don't think we should tempt them to use any more of these Edo Tensei."

"They're easy to hold back," Kakashi commented, pouring himself some milk and grimacing at the fact that Naruto had drunk right out of the carton earlier, "just not easy to seal. I don't think we should have a problem with them during the invasion, but it'll be very difficult to try and capture Kisame now."

"And the Aloe guy never shows himself," Naruto nodded, "there are seven Akatsuki members, then. Orochimaru, Pein, Konan, Itachi, Kisame, Aloe Vera, Tobi."

"Out of those, Itachi has a chance of coming to our side, and Tobi and Naruto's plant person have not attacked," Kakashi stated, walking over to the sitting room with his milk, "I think that if we plan it right, we can take them," he tapped his fingers against the couch, and sipped the milk through his mask, "we have four Jinchuuriki. Yugito, Naruto, B, Utakata, and former Jinchuuriki Gaara. We also have Tsunade, Jiraiya, Shizune, and myself, who have been told about the time seal. I think that we can leave the Akatsuki hunting be for a while and focus on concentrating our powers near the trigger."

Jiraiya nodded, "the Raikage is coming rather close to heart failure, so we should sent B and Utakata back to Kumo. Gaara will want to return to Suna to assist them in their proposed alliance with Kiri's new Mizukage. Tsunade-hime, what would Yugito-chan like to do until our invasion next year?"

The slug sannin crossed her arms over her chest and thought, "Yugito will probably want to make another appearance after her sabbatical, but sending her alone will be dangerous with the Akatsuki actively hunting Jinchuuriki, especially since she lives in a smaller village outside of Kumo. We'll send her to Kumogakure with B and Utakata and they can make a stop at her village on the way. She has trained under the Hachibi's Jinchuuriki before, so she can claim to be on further training and reintroduce herself into Kumo's shinobi forces."

Naruto nodded, "what will you do, baa-chan?"

"Well, now that I'm back, I might as well stay here for a while," she grumbled, "I'll teach that girl how to do a proper Shousen and land better punches, and I'll go over the iryounin council files to see how they've done. Other than that, I'll just freeload off Shizune and enjoy the ability to drink sake again."

Kakashi wisely decided not to tell her of his meeting with the Sandaime.

"Hmm, I think Shizune-chan's been learning a few skills from Yugito," Jiraiya commented, "you may not be able to drink as freely as you like," he turned to Kakashi, "I'm going to go out and keep in contact with some of the hunter-nin I know. I'll keep an eye on Itachi and Kisame's location and report anything strange."

"You'll also write another ecchi book," Naruto said matter-of-factly.

"Well, I need to make a living somehow," the toad sannin shrugged, "and sake is expensive. Kakashi, be careful in your missions from now on. Remember that you may be targeted."

"I know. I won't take any A-ranks out of Hi no Kuni," Kakashi nodded, "Naruto, now that you are all at least chunin, you'll probably be put in a four-man squad with Sai. Sasuke has yet to lead his first B-rank, and they're perusing the mission files for a suitable task for him."

Naruto groaned, "Why is everyone so insistent on feeding his ego?..."

ooooo

B didn't return until late that evening. After Kousuke came back to deliver the message, a small party consisting of Kakashi, Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Yugito all set out to see them.

Izumo and Kotetsu peered out of the small cabin near the gates to see the four of them.

"Tsunade-san? Jiraiya-san? Why have you both been coming in and out of the village so often?" Izumo finally questioned as they came closer. He turned to see the other two, "and Kakashi-senpai and…the lady who arrived with Tsunade-san? Why are you leaving too?"

"We're double dating," Kakashi deadpanned, hooking his arm through Yugito's.

The Kumo kunoichi visibly jumped and shot him a glare. In front of them, Jiraiya turned back to give his student's student a thumbs up while Tsunade huffed and crossed her arms.

Izumo looked scandalized, while Kotetsu winked at him.

"Have fun, then. It's true that the forest _is _a great place for long walks," the chunin called after them.

"Is this a normal part of culture in Hi no Kuni?" Yugito hissed, reluctantly waiting until the watch-cabin was out of sight until she pulled her arm away. They followed the trail out into the forests of Hi no Kuni, heading south towards the little rest-stop. The trees above them filtered out the evening light, and in front of them, Jiraiya seemed to be jokingly attempting to hold his princess's hand.

"Definitely," Kakashi nodded, "we're known for producing some of the greatest perverts in history."

"You know, I'd love to argue, but Kakashi is probably right," Tsunade sighed, "compared to Kumo, at least, we've got it bad."

"Then Jiraiya-san should try to stay away from Kumo," Yugito pondered, "or he'd be assaulted on a daily basis."

"Trust me, I know," the toad sannin winced, "there's a reason my only character from Kaminari is an…aggressive type."

It took them ten more minutes of walking before they reached the familiar little clearing with the small wooden building. Jiraiya walked in first, to see Gaara sitting up against the far wall, Tsunade's green haori folded neatly beside him. He looked a little pale, and the black character on his forehead stood out in stark contrast, but he seemed to be ok. B was seated across from him, swords piled up beside him, while Utakata kept watch outside the window, fingering his bubble blower.

The Suna boy nodded when he saw Tsunade, and stood up to hand her the green cloth that she had laid over him while he healed, "thank you for healing me, Tsunade-san."

The slug sannin accepted the haori with a smile, "it was no problem, Gaara. You were in very bad shape, but it's your own determination that helped you survive. You are officially the second Jinchuuriki to ever survive an extraction."

"Hmm? Who was the first?" Gaara raised an eyebrow, "I originally thought it was impossible, but my body was able to adapt because of its experience, and I suspect because of the resilience of time."

"Uzumaki Kushina survived, only because she had the largest reserves in history," Kakashi informed him.

"B-san, are you alright? Do you need medical attention?" She asked the Kumo nin. He seemed to be completely fine, but his white flak jacket was sliced through some places, and the faint remnants of blood stains were visible near the edges of the slashes.

"Gyuki healed 'em, kono yaro," he shook his head.

"Ah, what happened in your fight with the Raikage?" Kakashi questioned.

"He came after me, but Gyuki helped me flee. No dead Raikage can find Killer B, yeah," came his unnervingly short summary.

"I really hope Kisame came to collect his Edo Tensei before the poor village was destroyed," Utakata sighed, "I tried to tell them to run, but I'm not sure if they listened. What is the plan now?"

"You, B, and Yugito will all be heading to Kumo. You have to move fast, while Itachi and Kisame are still south-west of Hi no Kuni," Kakashi instructed, "remain there until we plan our invasion, and try not to go too far from the village."

Utakata frowned very briefly. He was considering heading to Mount Katsuragi to pay a visit to Hotaru. However, he realized that it would be too dangerous, and he could draw unnecessary attention to her. With the Akatsuki after them, a fully fortified village like Kumo was the perfect protection. He nodded, "that sounds best, Kakashi-san."

"I agree," Yugito added.

"Then I will return to Suna," Gaara stated, standing up, "I must return to my position as Baki-sensei's advisor. I also promised my brother and sister that I would not be gone for longer than a year, and my year is now over."

Jiraiya nodded, "I'll accompany you there. In fact, I'll come inside Suna with you. You see, I've recently heard that because all the girls wear full robes outside to protect them in the desert, while they're _in _the village, they like to wear…_less than usual_," he grinned widely.

Tsunade had been listening to too many off his comments without doing anything, mainly because he had begun to grow on her over the past two years. However, the little bursts of annoyance at each perverted comment had slowly gathered together. She raised one fist and swung it back. Before her teammate could move, he took it right to the jaw, long white hair flying as he took off.

Gaara, Utakata, Kakashi, and Yugito watched as Jiraiya of the Sannin crashed out of the building's only window and went flying. Tsunade drew back her fist with a satisfied smirk.

B looked at the broken window. Then he turned to look at Tsunade, whose lean arm muscles were still flexed. He nodded in approval and mentally set his standards to her level.

"Do they?" Gaara asked blankly, "I've never noticed."

ooooo

"Why. Didn't. You. Take. Me. With. You?!" Naruto yelled. Each word was punctuated by a hit with the couch pillow to Kakashi's masked face as his sensei spluttered and tried to get out of his hold without hurting him, "Gaara and Utakata and B no ossan and Yugito nee-chan are going to be away for a _year _and I didn't even get to say goodbye!"

ooooo

"If you don't stop that tapping I will _accident_ you, brat" Mitarashi Anko said between gritted teeth.

Uchiha Sasuke immediately stopped drumming his fingers against Anko's wooden breakfast table, cringing slightly. Anko's _accidents _usually involved snakes and fire and sticky dango sticks getting tangled in his hair.

She pulled out a chair opposite to him and sat down, leaning forward on the table and giving her former student a curious look.

Sasuke stared back with a bland look in his dark eyes, finger held frozen an inch above the table. She was familiar enough with his expressions to see the mournful look behind it.

"Why the heck are you being such poor company today, kid? I'm half convinced to throw you out and find Kurenai," Anko complained, wrinkling her nose, "you've spoken a grand total of twenty words since you got here."

In essence, that was her way of asking 'what's bothering you and what can I do to help'. The words she used, however, got across much better to the stoic Uchiha. Erupting into sappy condolences would only scare him away. Plus, he was too good at being eye candy to _actually _kick out. He had been a good looking twelve-year-old, but now he almost had her drooling sometimes.

"Are you going to teach me how to throw dango sticks to make the Konoha symbol?" He asked blankly.

Anko stared, "eh?" That certainly wasn't something she was expecting.

He looked away, "it's just something that Tenten said."

Anko tilted her head. This kid was being more confusing than usual, "do you want me to teach you? Heck, with your aim we'd better start out with logs." But they both knew perfectly well that Sasuke's aim was almost flawless.

"No, that's not necessary," Sasuke said, staring out the room's window. She wasn't sure if it was because he was trying to seem thoughtful, or because she had just taken her coat off and he was trying not to look. The flesh-colored shirt she chose to wear underneath her mesh wasn't meant to do its job very well.

"Well congrats, you've added twenty-six new words to today's repertoire," she said dryly, "do you want any food?" _Want to talk about killing your brother over a nice meal?_

"I've had enough sweets for today," came the emotionless reply.

"Want to play shogi?" _Are you just bored?_

"I don't feel like it."

"Want to spar?" _Do you need to release pent-up anger at something?_

"I've trained enough for today with Sakura. Believe it or not, she hits harder than you and that's motivation enough to get faster."

"Well figure it out, or _get _out. I don't have to waste time with kids." _What's wrong?_

"They're going to find a mission for me," he said suddenly, still staring out the window.

"Wonderful. Welcome to the life of a shinobi," she deadpanned, "missions are what we do to get money. _You've _been doing them since the age of eleven."

"It's a B-rank," he told her, frowning slightly.

"You've been on a A-ranks before," she replied, leaning her chin on her hands.

"It'll be chosen sometime in the next month, but they'll give me three weeks of special notice to prepare. I'm leading it. "

Ah, her forehead crinkled in a frown. Sasuke had been promoted to jonin a few months ago, but everyone knew that the promotion was never complete until his first successfully lead mission. Sometimes, the leading role wasn't given for a year unless it was during a war, but Sasuke was a genius. The Sandaime had been waiting patiently for the perfect mission to give Konoha's Uchiha prodigy. She picked up a stick of dango from a plate on the table and bit into it, waiting for her former student to continue.

"I have to complete it perfectly," he went on, still looking out the window, "preferably _more _than perfectly."

"Don't expect too much from yourself," she muttered, knowing that the kid would probably finish with flying colors. He had well surpassed her within in two years of instruction and at the age of fifteen. If he tried really hard he could probably best her in a duel _without _his Sharingan. That was partially because of her curse seal's effect on her abilities, but Anko had long since stopped considering it.

"Ch. I _have _to. I'm the last Uchiha," he replied, finally turning back to her.

"So what?" She questioned.

"So…they expect things from me," he replied as if it was obvious.

"Wow, yeah, just go ahead and keep boasting," she replied dryly, "just because you have a case of red-eyes, doesn't mean you have to be the most perfect shinobi alive."

Sasuke wasn't exactly sure what to say to that. Most people stopped when he gave them the 'last Uchiha' argument. He raised an eyebrow at his former sensei.

"Wanna hear about Genma's first mission as captain?" She asked, a feral grin spreading across her face. When Sasuke nodded slowly, she went on with glee, and finished chewing her bite of dango.

"So he was assigned a team of the Eternal Chunin and Tatami Iwashi," she began, knowing that Sasuke was aware the 'Eternal chunin' composed of Izumo and Kotetsu, "they had an escort mission, and it was with the eldest son of this rich merchant who had a lot of enemies. And Genma had a lot of pressure on him, because his parents were mid-level jonin and he was expected to do pretty well. Can you guess what happened?"

"He failed?" Sasuke tried.

"No, the mission was a complete success. They transported the merchant's brat to where he needed to be, fought off some hunters in the process, and barely got injured. On the way back, however…" she grinned, "turns out the merchant's brat gave them some high-class shochu to thank them."

Sasuke's eyebrows rose, "they got…inebriated?"

"Yup," she spun the empty dango stick around in her fingers, "they got drunk in the middle of the forest and woke up totally lost. They returned to the village five days later when they had finally figured out their way, and were required to write it _all _down in their reports. So _everyone _knew that Genma had made a fool of himself during his first mission as squad leader."

"Is that why he's a special jonin?" He asked blankly.

"Oi! We special jonin keep our positions because we don't want to teach annoying brats like you!" Anko protested, swinging the stick in emphasis.

Sasuke sighed and looked back out the window.

Anko frowned. Clearly Genma's story wasn't making an impression on him. Probably because the man didn't suit his standards. She sighed and drew out the big weapons.

"Want to hear about the mission Hatake Kakashi first lead as a jonin?" She asked a little more softly.

At this, her stubborn, infuriatingly impassive student turned around to look at her, "did he get drunk too?"

"Nah, Kakashi-senpai _never _gets drunk," she drawled, "I have experience trying. His mission was…different. We all got to know about it someway or another, although the only person he actually _told _was that man in the green bodysuit," she rolled the stick between her fingers and tried to look a little more serious.

"His first mission was both a success and a failure. I don't know the objective because it was the turning point of the war and the higher-ups wanted to keep it quiet, but I _do _know that one of his teammates was captured early on. Their mission required them to forget about her and hope she didn't spill any secrets," she began.

"But senpai and his other teammate abandoned it to go rescue her. On the way, his teammate, a kid named Obito, ended up dying. Luckily, his sensei was able to arrive in time and save the mission from complete failure. It was…the same mistake his father once made, but this time, the Hatake was regarded as a hero," she finished.

Sasuke was still looking at her, and this time the blank look was clouded by thinking.

"He failed the mission, Sasuke. In order to save a teammate," Anko stressed.

Sasuke looked down at the table.

"And it was the right thing to do," she told him, "because the mission wasn't as important. And look where he is now; one of the greatest jonin Konoha has ever produced, and not too bad in the looks department either."

"You don't even know how he looks," Sasuke muttered.

"Well I'm pretty sure that whatever he hides under that mask is worth it," she told him seriously, "I mean, his facial structure is too perfect to not look good."

The Uchiha boy put his chin in his hands, and turned to look back out the window. So the mission where Uchiha Obito had died had been lead by his sensei. The mission where Kakashi of the Sharingan had gotten his Sharingan. With regards to him, it had been a failure. But he had saved a teammate on the way.

Sasuke pondered it. Could he do something like that? It was hard to come up with a direct answer.

"Look, now you've made me get all sappy and mentor-like," Anko complained loudly, reaching over to ruffled her student's hair while the Uchiha boy gave her a murderous look. She had taught him most of that killing intent, and she was proud as hell whenever she saw it.

"Ch. I didn't ask you to," Sasuke stated stiffly, "I was just informing you that I was going to lead my first mission soon, Anko-sensei."

Anko didn't understand why the boy still called her sensei. She had stopped 'teaching' him when he became a jonin, and really only providing an occasional full-out sparring session. For a while she had told him to call her 'Anko'. He had refused.

"And there I was actually trying to _help _you. I wasted an entire half an hour soothing your stupid worries. Little boys your age shouldn't be allowed to have big egos," she waved, waving the dango stick around, "I mean, what the hell am I, your sister?"

Sasuke thought back to Sakura's words, and frowned in thought.

It would be a pleasant day in hell when Mitarashi Anko took Uchiha Itachi's place.

ooooo

"You have a habit of leaving for a long time, and coming back with another Jinchuuriki," A observed dryly after he had finally calmed down, "are you trying to collect them?"

ooooo

"Kisame," Uchiha Itachi stopped walking.

After helping to seal the Ichibi, he and his partner had been walking back towards Ame. Kisame had gone to the small village to discover that it was covered in shroud of ink, with the Sandaime Raikage walking around inside, disoriented. The Jinchuuriki of the Rokubi and Hachibi had gotten away. They had been instructed to

Follow the two Jinchuuriki.

Soon afterwards, they had received intel from spies that suggested that Killer B was heading to Kumo along with an unnamed man and a woman. Seeing their chance, they had pursued the two, but the Jinchuuriki had entered Kumo before they could catch up, and Kumo was heavily fortified.

Itachi had suggested heading back to Ame, but Kisame had been adamant to take revenge on the men who had escaped his grasp. They had wasted weeks waiting for the two and the woman – who they had realized was the Jinchuuriki of the Nibi – to come out of the village, but no sight of them was seen.

And so they had both made their way back across Hi no Kuni in absolute silence. It used to be that there was a small possibility Itachi would reply to his partner's words, but now he stayed as silent as he could. It was dangerous to talk to Kisame, even if only about the weather. Something could slip, and he would be given away.

Itachi knew that his partner was aware of far more than him. Although he himself had joined the Akatsuki simply to keep an eye on the organization, Kisame had been drawn in by their ultimate plan, something far beyond becoming the Jinchuuriki of the Juubi.

He had originally entertained the idea of interrogating his partner and taking the information from him, but he was certain that Obito would know if he tried. After all, Kisame was one of the oldest Akatsuki members, and painfully loyal despite his carefree personality.

"How interesting," the blue skinned man grinned, flashing animalistic teeth, "he can speak."

"Go on," he said plainly, "I will come to Ame after taking care of something."

"You've been rather…_touchy_," the grin remained, "are you hiding something, _Itachi_?"

"If I can complete something without needing to bother our Leader, he will be satisfied," the older Uchiha looked back with a slight glint in his red eyes, "go back to Ame alone."

"Oi," the grin morphed into worry, "are you leaving me to report our failure by myself?"

Itachi sighed inwardly, and looked upwards into the treetops, feeling the slightest urges of exasperation. When he looked back down, his eyes were carefully blank, "our mission was a success," he stated, "we were asked to retrieve the Jinchuuriki. The number of Jinchuuriki was not specified, and our opponents lost far more than us."

Kisame still frowned, and reached to pat the pocket in his cloak that held the Sandaime Raikage's summoning scroll, "but Orochimaru's gift should have been enough to keep them occupied. Will Pein-sama not be angry that we have wasted it?"

"It can be summoned again," Itachi told him, "it is not wasted. You have been speaking of seeing Konan-sama endlessly for the past day, and you hesitate now?"

The blue-skinned man bit his lip, "_you_ wouldn't understand, Itachi. You are half her age. But to see her after failing our mission…"

"Cease your complaining and head to Ame," Itachi instructed, "if you walk slowly enough, maybe I will catch up to you before you enter."

And with that, he turned away.

ooooo

"I'm here! Sorry I'm late, I…um…got lost on the road of life."

"Never say that again, Naruto," Sakura said dryly, "as cute as it is when sensei does it, it doesn't suit you at all."

"And you're going to regret being late for my first meeting," Sasuke said between gritted teeth, "we wasted fifteen minutes because of you."

"Oh come on," Naruto waved a hand in dismissal, "I know you're used to accounting for sensei's lateness automatically. Fifteen minutes won't kill us, it's just a B-rank."

"It's _my _B-rank," the Uchiha boy growled, "and if you do _anything _out of line, forget Anko-sensei because I'll deal with you myself."

At the look in his eyes, Naruto gulped and unconsciously moved behind Sai. The pale boy in front of him turned around and gave him a well-practiced smile.

"It will be nice to work in a four-man squad with you, Naruto-kun," thankfully the 'dickless' had been beaten out of him, and Sakura had taken him away for a talk, "I trust you will be a capable replacement for Kakashi-taicho."

"No more of that," Sasuke interrupted, "that title belongs to me this time."

"What title," Naruto blinked.

"Er…didn't you know, Naruto?" Sakura gave him a winning smile, "this is Sasuke's very first mission as captain."

"Eh?" Naruto's mouth widened in surprise.

"Well, seeing as we're in a _four-man squad, _you and Sakura are chunin, and Sai is in anbu, who did you _think _would lead?" Sasuke hissed, crouching over the desk at jonin headquarters that they were gathered in.

As soon as he had walked in, Naruto had noticed that his friend had decided to start wearing a green, jonin flak jacket. That had given him a clue, but he hadn't explicitly expected that the revenge-obsessed boy who had once betrayed Konoha would now be leading a mission for the village. It was surprising, in a good way.

"Er…congratulations, Sasuke," Naruto tried, rubbing his head sheepishly, "I didn't know but…we'll ace this mission!"

"Good," Sasuke seemed satisfied, and turned back to the sheets he had spread out on the table.

It seemed that the Uchiha boy was a worrier. The jonin headquarters was a rather small place, and the lower floor consisted of rooms which Konoha jonin used to perform mission-briefings. It had nothing but a large circular table in the middle, surrounded by wooden chairs. Except now, the table was covered in paper.

Sasuke had spread out a map of Takigakure and the route that lead directly to it from the edges of Hi no Kuni. It was detailed beyond belief, including common hunter-nin hideouts that shinobi over the years had gathered intel about, and smaller landmarks, like every small waterfall that Taki was known for.

Held deceptively loosely in his long fingers were map pins, and he was slowing sticking them along their planned route.

"So," Naruto spoke up, "what's this mission about?"

"It's a retrieval," the Uchiha boy explained, growing serious, "one of the daimyo's relatives has an artifact that he trusted the leader of Takigakure to guard, and we're being asked to retrieve it and bring it back to his house."

"It's practically a higher C-rank," Sakura explained, "but Saburou-sama insists on seeing it delivered as safely as possible because there are people hunting for it. It's apparently very expensive, but he wants it for its sentimental value."

Sasuke looked a little miffed at how she was undermining his mission, but kept quiet. He knew that he was being given an easy mission early on simply so that Konoha would be able to boast about him. However, since it was so apparently easy, if he did anything wrong…

"What will be our formation, Sasuke-taicho?" Sai asked with a smile. It seemed that the 'handsome' had been beaten out of him as well…

Sakura perked up at her strategic specialty being mentioned, "I would suggest-"

"No," Sasuke interrupted, "I'll come up with it. You are only the fukutaicho this time, Sakura." The look in his was a mix of determination and pure stubbornness.

"Eh? Why can't _I _be fukutaicho? Why Sakura?" Naruto whined.

"Because you have the neural capacity of a fish and the attention span of a common fly," Sasuke told him bluntly, "and Sai was not trained to be in leading positions. Therefore, in all the missions I lead with this squad, Sakura will be second in command."

Naruto looked slightly miffed, "fine. When _I _lead missions, _I _won't choose you either."

"Maa…is this really the time," Sakura looked at both her teammates, "Sasuke-kun, our formation?"

The Uchiha boy tore his gaze from Naruto and looked back to the map, becoming serious.

"Sai will lead along with his ink scouts," he began, "Sakura and I will remain in the middle. Naruto, you will bring up the rear along with your clones. We are heading directly through hunter-nin territory, and we can almost certainly expect to be attacked. The clones and the scouts will be able to inform us so we can be prepared."

Sakura nodded, "yes, that's what I was going to suggest."

"We'll follow the main river," he spoke up again, trailing his finger along the line of blue on the map, "it follows directly from Taki's waterfalls and heads in a straight path through Hi no Kuni and all the way down to Nami."

"Yes! We can actually take baths in the river during the mission!" Naruto cheered.

"You actually take baths, Naruto-kun?" Sai commented lightly, "that is rather surprising given your current odor."

"Oi! I just came back from sparring with bushier-brow sensei's team," Naruto protested, "I'm all sweaty, you can't blame me for having a little BO!"

Sakura wrinkled her nose and took a small step away, while Sasuke sighed and rubbed his face in his hands. Sai simply stood in the exact same place with his strange smile.

"Nevertheless, we leave in three hours," Sasuke sighed, "pack travel essentials and weapons. Sakura, now that you have been certified as a novice field medic, you will have to take medical kits and soldier pills with you."

"Already packed," Sakura nodded. She had been training under Senju Tsunade for a month, and the woman had _not _gone easy on her. Everyday after team training was Tsunade-sama's training. The slug sannin had originally planned to only teach her iryou-ninjutsu, but after seeing her taijutsu, she had changed her mind.

Tsunade of the Sannin was a _master _of strength-oriented taijutsu. Sakura's morning spars with Sasuke and occasionally Kakashi were beginning to feel more like warm-ups for the sessions with her new shishou. The slug princess had made good use of her excellent chakra control to teach her how to channel chakra into her punches, making them twice as powerful. This lasted for hours sometimes; it didn't help that Tsunade was bored of staying inside Shizune's apartment and found her meager entertainment in the pink-haired girl.

The evenings consisted of helping out in the hospital with Ino, where Shizune had gotten her a license to practice iryou-ninjutsu on lower-level injuries. Once or twice, she had even dealt with shinobi injuries.

It had taken her over a month, but she had finally gotten her certification to practice as a field iryounin for her team.

"Good," Sasuke's eyes narrowed as he regarded each member of his squad in turn, "we will meet at the gates in three hours and _no more_. If _any _of you are late, you will _regret it _for the rest of your shinobi carriers. Because, as a _jonin, _I have the right to submit…_complaints._"

At this, even Sakura gulped. Uchiha Sasuke was not friendly when he was overcome with nerves.

"When did Sasuke-teme get so…scary?" Naruto whispered to Sakura after the briefing was declared complete.

"I think it has something to do with Anko-sensei," she whispered back, "as I said, she really rubbed off on him."

Naruto winced. So instead of being a revenge-obsessed traitor, _this _Sasuke was a sadistically scary bastard. Such an improvement.

ooooo

"Kakashi-taicho! Please slow down! We beg you!"

Hatake Kakashi sighed and stopped on his branch. It was true that he had been going at much faster speeds, but he had been hoping to catch Sasuke and give him a word of encouragement before his student went off as mission leader.

"If we had gone at my original speed we would be in Konoha by now," he called out to his three teammates from his branch.

"And then you'd have to drag our limp bodies to the hospital for chakra loss," Iwashi told him, panting, "is there a reason you're trying to exhaust us?"

Kakashi considered telling them about Sasuke, but decided against it, "the flowers in my garden will die if I don't water them soon. Do you want to have the extinguishing of various lives on your hands?" he asked Tatami Iwashi seriously.

"You…live in an apartment, taicho," the man replied, confused.

"And what does that have to do with anything?" Kakashi retorted, "get to the ground, we'll have a fifteen minute break," he leapt off the branch, sighing.

It was probably best that they took a break. Underneath his mask, even Kakashi was sweating and his chakra had dwindled to a purely modest amount. However, he had thought there was a chance to see his students off. Even that boy Sai deserved a bit of encouragement, and he was afraid of growing apart from Sakura now that she had apprenticed herself to Tsunade. Naruto's predictions about his students going off with one sannin each bothered him more than he cared to admit.

At that, he sighed. Sakura was learning things from Tsunade that were greatly suited to her natural abilities, but Kakashi missed seeing the little pink-haired bundle of excitement during every training session. They all grew up too fast…

"Lay those blankets out here" came Iwashi's voice in front of him. The jonin was pointing to an empty gap between two other blankets laid down on the grass.

"No way!" Izumo protested, "you're trying to steal my blanket while I'm asleep!"

"I'm not!" Iwashi rubbed his temples, "I'm trying to reduce the distance to ensure maximum comfort."

"Yeah right," Kotetsu muttered, spreading his blanket out a good meter away from the jonin's.

"What…are you all doing?" Kakashi questioned, walking up to stand over his teammates. The three of them were tucking themselves into their standard issue bedrolls as quickly as possible.

"Fifteen minute nap, taicho," Kotetsu reported, snuggling in and closing his eyes, "we have to replenish our reserves, and sleeping speeds it up."

"And we're tired as hell." Izumo muttered.

"And you three full grown shinobi are going to decide to nap in the middle of the forest where you could be easily ambushed?" The masked jonin raised an eyebrow.

"That's what you're here for, taicho," Izumo winked, "it's not like _you're_ going to sleep."

Kakashi sighed and settled down, sitting cross legged on the ground and watching his teammates fall asleep. Being able to get to sleep quickly was a shinobi skill, and the Eternal Chunin excelled at it.

Sometimes, it wasn't a good thing that every shinobi in Konoha was aware that Hatake Kakashi would never allow his teammates to die.

Suddenly, he felt a strange presence in the area. On full alert, Kakashi bit his thumb and slammed it against the ground.

"Kuchiose!"

"Yo." The small pug with the henohenomohegi on its back looked up with a bored expression, "it's been a while, Kakashi."

"It's only been two months," the jonin retorted, "do you sense anything nearby?"

The dog sniffed around for a while, and its eyes widened, "there's definitely something there. Over that way, near the river," he flicked his nose in the direction.

"It might be a group of hunter-nin, one was reported to be in the area recently," Kakashi rubbed his mask thoughtfully, "Sasuke-kun's team is heading out today, and I don't want him to meet them. My students are strong, but Sasuke-kun can't afford to make any mistakes with the council watching so closely. Pakkun, stay here and guard my team. Wake them up if I'm not back in five minutes."

"Got it, Kakashi," the pug nodded. He meandered over to settle down in the space between Izumo and Iwashi's blankets, ready to bark and wake them at a moment's notice.

The masked jonin crept away in the forest with the stealth that he had learned over years of practice, barely making a sound as his feet swept through the leafy ground. He passed through the clearing and walked into the thicker bunch of trees that lead to the river bank, pushing carefully through the branches overhead.

He peered through a slight hole in the foliage to see the river, water swirling along all the way down towards Nami. Kakashi looked to either side through his vantage point; the bank was empty. However, although he wasn't a strong sensory type, the feeling of someone's presence was slowly growing stronger, becoming too prominent to ignore. There was _definitely _someone there, and if they could mask their view so well, they weren't ordinary hunter-nin.

That was the last thing he was able to think before a pair of red eyes appeared directly in front of his own.

ooooo

When Kakashi woke up, the world looked vastly different.

He could not move his arms, or legs. The only thing he could control was his neck, and so he swiveled around, trying to make sense of his surroundings. He was in some sort of upright position, and although he couldn't move them, he could feel that there were ropes around his hands. Behind him was a long, thick pole the size of the average tree trunk; it seemed that someone had tied him to it.

His senses went on full alert as he looked upwards to see red skies with soft, white clouds floating through them. Looking downwards slowly, he saw mountains in the distance. They were pitch black. His sight slowly looked down as his brain tried to absorb what he saw, until he was finally looking directly in front of him.

A meter away and approaching swiftly was Uchiha Itachi. He looked as through he had been carved from the negative of a photograph, but the features were prominent enough to only be his.

Kakashi felt inklings of fear rising in him, but struggled to keep a level head. He started to regret travelling at a speed fast enough to cut down on his reserves. But if it came to it, he could always expose the older Uchiha and hope that a battle would not be necessary. If not…he was confident in his abilities to at least take the Uchiha down with him. However, he was determined not to do so. Naruto had long since convinced him that Sasuke needed his brother to tell him about _that _by himself.

"Hatake Kakashi," the wavering figure began, "is it you who has been sending the Jinchuuriki to hunt us, even while _we _hunt _them_?"

Remembering what Utakata had told him, Kakashi nodded wordlessly. If he wanted to talk, then so be it. In a while, Iwashi and the two chunin would be there, and Itachi's attention would be split.

"This is my ultimate genjutsu," the older Uchiha went on, "it is called the Tsukiyomi. In here, we will spend seventy-two days together. I have many things to ask you."

Kakashi inwardly sighed. Knowing that he only wanted to talk first was relieving, and it would give his teammates time to bring reinforcements from Konoha, especially since Pakkun knew where he was. Against him and one of the sannin, even Itachi would be hard-pressed to win.

"The seventy two days in this dimension will feel like only a minute in the other," Itachi continued, "I am only here to talk. When we are finished, you will wake up one minute since you looked into my eyes."

That was both relieving and horrifying. It was horrifying because Pakkun would seem to get no chance to bring his teammates, and relieving because it seemed that Itachi really did _only _want to talk. Someone as loyal as him would keep his word, and Naruto had assured him that Itachi was one of the most loyal men he had ever known.

"My first question; why do you send the Jinchuuriki and the sannin after us?" Came the low voice.

"To defeat you before you have a chance to defeat us," Kakashi replied carefully.

"Do you know who the remaining members of the Akatsuki are?" Itachi asked, "do not try to withhold information from me. I have other ways of getting it."

Kakashi hesitated at this, but knew that the Uchiha probably _expected _him to know, "you. Kisame. Orochimaru. Tobi." He stated only the ones that they had met before.

"You are not telling the entire truth," Itachi informed him, "I will say it again; do not try to withhold information. This dimension is controlled by me, and I am aware of everything within it. It is the Ultimate Genjutsu. You know of others."

Ah, so this was the third technique of the Mangekyou Sharingan. Kakashi bit the inside of his cheek, deep in thought. Finally, he sighed.

"The leader of Ame and his second-in-command. Some Aloe Vera person," he conceded.

"Oh?" Itachi raised an eyebrow. The entire time, his arms had remained at his sides, but his hands were invisible inside the long sleeves of the Akatsuki cloak, "it is curious that you know of Pein and his partner, and even stranger that you know of the 'Aloe Vera person'. Who told you about him?"

"An ally," came Kakashi's simply reply. If he was not allowed to lie, then he would at least make it such that the truth needed to be dragged out of him. He was not going to reveal information easily, even to someone who had the possibility of being on their side.

Itachi momentarily looked like he was going to demand elaboration, but paused. Instead, he asked a rather different question.

"What is your relationship with Uchiha Obito?"

At that, Kakashi gritted his teeth. He didn't know why the question was being asked, or what his head friend had to do with it, but this was becoming suspicious. The question about the Akatsuki seemed fairly obvious, but this…

"I will ask again," Itachi said calmly, "how do you know Uchiha Obito?"

"He…was my friend," Kakashi said slowly, carefully. He left it at that.

Itachi did not miss the 'was', referring to Obito in the past tense. A thought occurred to him, as he thought of Obito's one eyed mask, and the hitai-ite that concealed Kakashi's _one _Sharingan eye.

"He was the one who gave you your transplanted eye," he stated firmly.

Kakashi didn't respond, but the silence in itself was enough to confirm it. There were not many people who knew exactly who he had gotten the eye from, at least not outside of Konoha. Many of the jonin in his generation were aware of the story, if only through the gossip lines, but to foreigners, Kakashi of the Sharingan was a mystery.

But it was too much of a stretch to assume that Itachi had simply guessed. At the time he had gotten his eyes, there had been many dead Uchiha, it was during the middle of a war. He could have grave-robbed from any of them that still had specks of life, long enough to provide blood to their eyes until it was transplanted.

"If you had to choose between your friend and your village, what would you do?" Itachi asked in a softer voice, "assuming that your friend has betrayed your village."

Kakashi frowned, "Gai would never do something like that."

What was Itachi talking about?

"I am speaking of Uchiha Obito," Itachi went on, his face carefully emotionless, "what would you do."

"He died a long time ago," Kakashi retorted.

"Do not take my question so literally," Itachi's frown deepened, "if you had to choose between someone you love and would give your life for, and your village, what would you do?"

"I love and would give my life for my village as well," the masked jonin told him, "and if this person is truly my friend, I know that my village will stand behind me and help me as I bring him back."

"That was not an answer."

"There is no answer."

For a while, Itachi remained in silence. Finally, he looked up and raised one arm. Kakashi watched his sleeve carefully as the black material warped and rose out of his arm, allowing the tip of a beak to break through. He kept his eyes trained on it as the rest of a black crow emerged, and wished he could untie his arms to push up his hitai-ite and use his Sharingan to check for genjutsu.

"A genjutsu inside a genjutsu?" he asked.

Itachi did not answer. He allowed the crow to stand upon his arm, cawing and ruffling its feathers. He slowly walked towards Kakashi, the bird position on his arm.

The masked jonin tried to shift further back into the pole, and desperately tried to free his arms, but he could not move. He could only watch as the older Uchiha came so close that he could make out each individual thread in his red irises.

A long fingered hand came up, and one index finger briefly touched the spot below his left eye where hit hitai-ite ended. For a moment, Kakashi thought he was going to push the cloth up to reveal his eye.

Instead, Itachi pushed it down to reveal the rest of his face.

Kakashi's eye widened as his mask went down. He knew that it was a psychological step, to make him feel vulnerable. Uchiha Itachi was now the only one alive who had seen his face.

The Uchiha boy did not make any comments about his resemblance to his father; he had never even known Hatake Sakumo. He only saw another regular face that had been hidden for over twenty years.

"Open your mouth," he instructed, bird position on one arm.

Kakashi, still slightly disturbed, opened his mouth to ask what he was doing. The moment his lips parted, he was greeted with the slick taste of feathers. The crow that had been on Itachi's arm had put its head inside his mouth, and the rest of it was following.

It seemed impossible for the large bird to fit down his throat, but somehow he ended up swallowing it. He didn't feel its decent; and assumed that it was merely another strange facet of the genjutsu world. It was an illusion; he had not _actually _just swallowed a large bird.

Kakashi felt extremely unsettled. He yearned for the end of the Tsukiyomi; if only so that he could have a chance to fight Itachi in the real world.

"The next seventy-two days will pass in silence," Uchiha Itachi told him, stepping away, "but it may be that even someone like you may not be able to avoid the insanity that comes of boredom. Sleep."

And with that, Kakashi felt tiredness slowly descending upon him.

ooooo

"Are you _certain _that you're ok?" Senju Tsunade asked once again, "I've already done a brief mental evaluation, but is there _anything _else?"

"No," Kakashi replied for the fifth time, "I've already told you, he only wanted to talk."

After Pakkun had woken them up, Izumo, Kotetsu, and Iwashi had found him sleeping along the riverbank, laid out on his back. They had made endless fun of him 'sleeping on the job' before he had informed them that he needed to get back to Konoha as quickly as possible. The moment he entered the gates, he had sent Pakkun to retrieve the two Sannin and bring them to his apartment, where he had detailed his encounter.

Unfortunately, Sasuke's team had already left on their mission. But that was the least of his worries.

"We have to stop Sasuke's team," he informed the slug sannin, "Itachi could still be in those forests."

"We can't, unless we want the entire council on our backs," Jiraiya ran a hand though his spiky white hair, "they're keeping a close eye on him, and they'll question the hell out of you if you suddenly want to bring him back."

That was true.

"Besides, didn't Naruto say that Itachi loved his younger brother?" Tsunade added, "I think that we should trust his future memories. Something like that is bound to be resilient."

Kakashi sighed. He knew that it was unlikely Itachi would be able to take on Sasuke, Sakura, _and _Naruto together, and the blond boy was extremely protective of his teammates. However, if anything happened, Sai could inform Danzo…

"Alright," he conceded, "but if he doesn't return within a week, I will take action."

The worried look on Tsunade's face was meant for him. She leaned over on the couch to peer into his eye, "but it's hard to believe that Uchiha Itachi would so easily leave _you _alone, hero or not. Are you absolutely _sure _that you're feeling ok?"

"Well, he _did _put his crow inside me," Kakashi shrugged, "I suppose I _do _feel rather…violated."

**ooooo**

**Something I found interesting: Uchiha Itachi's stats on the wiki are 35.5/40! That's high than Kakashi, and any of the other Konoha ****shinobi, and he's on par with the Sannin at the age of 15! The only thing he loses points in is stamina, which would be _even __higher_ if he didn't have his disease.**

**Also, on a different character stat page in which 'luck' is a category, Kakashi scores pitifully low. Poor him...**

**Leave a review with feedback ^^**


	27. The Happiness of a Prodigy

**To answer a question a few reviewers have asked, there will not be any _serious _pairings in this story. The pairings will be for the sole purpose of comic relief, such as Gai and Shizune, and Anko's one sided obsession with Kakashi ^^**

**Chapter 27 – The Happiness of a Prodigy**

"The one leading them is Hatake Kakashi, Obito-sama."

"Oh? Really?_ He _is the one who has been gathering the Jinchuuriki and the two Sannin?"

"Yes. I have asked him about you. He claims to have been your friend, but he believes you to be dead."

"I know, I have seen him. Is he dead now?"

"No."

"You did not kill him?"

"He has become very strong, and I must seek my brothers eyes before I grow weaker. He also has the support of four Jinchuuriki. I believe you will have to fight him yourself, Obito-sama."

"Well, that certainly is interesting," Uchiha Obito turned to look out the windows of Ame's tallest tower, "and how is our guest doing?"

"I believe Orochimaru is still alive."

"Well as can be expected, then."

ooooo

"That girl over there, her name is Ai. She's the fastest academy student we have," Kankuro explained excitedly, pointing, "and her father is waiting for a spot on the council. Sharp with a blade and real quick with katon jutsu. She'll be the next Pakura in no time."

Gaara looked down to the playing grounds impassively from the top of the brand new Suna academy. Below, the sandy surface outside the building was covered in young children running around.

"Nah, I like that kid better," Temari pushed Kankuro's finger until it pointed at a tall boy, well-built for his eleven years, "his name is Souta. He's _really_ smart, he got _all _my math questions correct. He acts really lazy sometimes, but he's a genius. Kinda reminds me of this guy I met during Konoha's chunin exams."

Kankuro shrugged, "well, it's for Gaara to decide, anyway," he turned to his brother, who was still watching the children from their high vantage point, "why did you insist on helping us in the academy?"

He didn't know exactly what to say. In the future, he had been a part of the academy since returning from Konoha's chunin exams, but this time he had been required by Baki's side. Temari and Kankuro had been left with the task of taking care of Suna's new educational system, and playing below was their very first crop of students.

Upon coming here, his eyes had immediately searched out the familiar, cropped brown hair. He found the girl he was looking for, and had been ignoring his sibling's choices, instead watching as she hesitantly approached a group of playing children. She was a nice girl; they had welcomed her into their small group of friends, and they were now running around in the sand, playing catch.

"What about her?" He asked, pointing down at the girl.

"Oh, her name is Matsuri. Poor girl, her parents were killed a while ago. She's very friendly. About average in class rank, slightly better at calculations than shinobi history," Temari explained, "I like her, she's a nice girl."

"Nothing special, though," Kankuro put in, "it took almost a month to convince her to use a pair of small daggers during bukijutsu lessons, and she's still a little nervous with them."

"You two have apprentices, correct?" He asked, looking around at his siblings.

"Yup," Kankuro grinned, "Ai's mine. I'm teaching her some kenjutsu after class. In a year or two she might even surpass _me._"

"Sota's mine," Temari added, "he takes extra math and shinobi history lessons from me. His dream is to have a spot in the tactical division."

"Of course, if you like either of them, feel free to take them," Kankuro said lightly, "we won't mind; you're the future Kazekage after all. Ai and Souta would be flattered."

Gaara becoming the next Kazekage was now a solid fact. The council had been impressed by his aid to Baki-sensei. He pointed down at the brown haired girl, "I would like to apprentice Matsuri."

Kankuro frowned a little, "why her?" He slipped his hands into his pockets and leaned over further to observe the girl, "I mean, if you're into cute girls there's this other-"

"Kankuro!" Temari smacked her brother upside the head, "stop being so weird, she's far too young for Gaara," with that, she turned towards her other sibling, "but…why her?"

"You said she's having trouble with hurting people with weapons due to her past?"

Kankuro and Temari did not remember saying that, exactly, but they nodded.

"I'll teach her how to use the Jouhyou. She should warm up to it," he replied simply.

"Um…that doesn't explain why you chose _her_," Temari pointed out, "she's nice, but only average. Nowhere near Kazekage material."

"I don't want to train a Kazekage," he replied, "why must I only chose my successor? If you like, when the time comes I will nominate Ai or Souta for Kazekage."

"You don't _want _to have a talented student?" Kankuro asked, confused, "I mean, Ai would love to be the future Kazekage, and I know she has the potential, but don't _you _want to train your successor?"

"Yeah, in Konoha all the Hokages have had teacher-student relationships," Temari pointed out, "and they're doing great."

"There are those to strive for excellence," Gaara began, slipping into his commanding voice, "and have great things expected from them. Out of these, some succeed and become legends, and some crumble and believe their decent to ordinary life to be a failure. But we must remember that history had produced millions of loyal shinobi, and barely any of them fall into either of those categories. There are those who are content to lead average lives, and this too is a virtue. From them, we see the same unbending loyalty as from the prodigies, and they are no less important."

"So…what does this have to do with talented students?" Temari asked again.

"Well, if we have but overachievers, our village will crumble because the support base, the dozens of shinobi who are content to hold up their village by its roots, will be gone. I do not wish to teach a child who had been groomed for success and pushed into genius, such a person would have enough support already. I want to teach someone who has their own dream, and help them reach it. Not everyone dreams to be Kazekage."

"I…don't understand," Temari frowned.

"I am saying that those like Matsuri and Rai are precious people of Suna just like the council members and the more over-achieving students," he said softly, "every shinobi is important, whether they dream of living up to their parents expectations, or are pursuing their interests, or are striving for a council position. Not everyone _has _to have high goals to be recognized. I like to think that beneath the handful of shinobi that make their way to my office, there are legions of wonderful Suna citizens who support the village quietly."

"Um...so you want to take on the challenge of choosing someone mediocre and turning them into something great?" Kankuro pondered, "I suppose there's an appeal in that…"

"No," Gaara sighed, "I…simply want to teach. I do not care if I am not pushing a student to his full capacity. If he does not want to reach his full capacity, then so be it. I will take him wherever he will be happy. When you told me about Matsuri…I thought that maybe she would be happy with a more protective weapon in her hands."

"You…want to make your students happy?" Temari asked tentatively.

"Yes."

At that, she sighed, and gave her youngest brother a small smile. She knew better than anyone that his childhood had not been happy. When he was younger, he was strained with the responsibility of being the Kazekage's son. After Yashamaru's death, he was strained with the responsibility of reigning in his beast.

It only made sense that he wanted to help another person live a good life. He didn't want to make his student powerful like Kankuro attempted, or clever like Temari tried to, he simply wanted to make them happy.

"I understand, Gaara," she said softly.

"Good. You two can be surprisingly dull at times," the red-haired boy replied.

"Ah well, she's lucky that the future Kazekage himself took interest in teaching her," Kankuro shrugged, "do you want to take extra lessons with her?"

"The other students may still see me as some of the villagers do," Gaara said stiffly, "will that affect her in any way?"

"Oh no," Temari assured him, "some of the kids originally had a…less-than-truthful understanding of you because of your bijuu, but we told them all about the _real _you. We made sure to drill it into their heads that you were going to be Suna's hero one day."

"In fact, we'll introduce you today after our classes," Kankuro added happily.

Gaara allowed himself a small hint of a smile at the notion of meeting his one-time student again.

ooooo

"So, why come to me?"

Hatake Kakashi looked across at the man standing in the doorway to his apartment. The soft brown hair, strangely intelligent eyes, and Nidaime-style hitai-ite gave the man away, even though it had been years since they last met.

"Erm…" the man shuffled awkwardly in the doorway, waiting to be invited in or thrown out. Anything would be better than standing in between.

Kakashi sighed, "I'm the only non-anbu you know, aren't I?" He asked wearily, raising an eyebrow.

"The only one still alive," former operative Tenzou responded quietly.

"So, was finding a girlfriend the _only _reason you left anbu?" He asked again, not budging an inch from where he leaned against the doorframe, blocking the entry.

"No." Tenzou admitted truthfully, trying to keep eye contact.

A short moment passed, and then the masked jonin finally sighed, rubbing his head.

"Well, come in, then," he moved to one side and stopped blocking the door, allowing his former kohai to enter his apartment. He made his way over to sit down on the slightly high-raised table in the sitting room, just so he could tower over the younger man on the couch. It was fun watching Tenzou being awkward.

They spent a few seconds in silence, with Kakashi sitting on the table, swinging one leg below him and resting his masked chin in his hands. The other man shifted nervously on the couch. Even though he had somehow made it past his twentieth birthday, he still had all of the fear – and trust – of his senpai as ever.

Kakashi sighed again. As one of Orochimaru's earliest test subjects, the boy had been isolated from society at a very young age. The moment he returned, he had been placed in the anbu, where he could develop his more dangerous skills away from an academy filled with children. At the age of seven, he had been declared chunin-level.

He had chosen to stay in the anbu for longer than necessary, and become a full member. He had liked his team of Tiger and Squirrel and Grasshopper, and their squad leader Dog was a slave-driver, but when it came to it he had always protected them. When Dog had left, Bear took over for a while, and then Tenzou himself was assigned to lead.

So he remained in the anbu for another ten years. His track record was impeccable, easily the best among most other anbu, and the Hokage had the utmost trust in him. But every anbu had their limit, and it usually came at around six years. Tenzou was easily ready for anbu retirement.

"So," he began, "what do you want to do now?"

"I've asked Hokage-sama to put me on the mission roster as a special jonin," he began, "but I'm going to be on probation period to…test my abilities. You see, many anbu aren't used to integrating themselves back into jonin life…"

"And what does this have to do with me?" He drawled, fingers itching to get back into his book.

"I have to choose a Konoha jonin to work under during this probation," he explained, "so I came to ask…"

Kakashi decided to wait, just to see if he would finish the sentence. Allowing him to leave it hanging and finishing the sentence for him would be too nice.

"Well, you could be the jonin I worked under for the next six months?" He practically squeaked.

"Was that a question…or a statement?"

"A…question, Kakashi-senpai," Tenzou gulped as the one revealed eye bored into him.

"This means…that you'll be part of my team for all my missions?"

"Yes, senpai."

"And if for some unknown reason, they give you a mission to lead, I'll have to tag along?"

"…yes senpai."

Kakashi sighed. If he had known that young Cat would be so dependant on him…then again, the boy was loyal and skilled. And to be honest, he was easy to grow slightly fond of.

"Alright," the masked jonin declared, "I will dutifully introduce you to the ways of shinobi life in Konoha. For the next six months, you will be my personal minion!" He nodded.

"Yes, senpai!" Tenzou wasn't sure exactly what he was signing up for, but it sounded like he would have somewhat of a smooth transition out of the anbu.

ooooo

"Sasuke-k…taicho," Sakura told the dark haired boy speeding through the trees beside her, "we've been travelling at half speed for almost five hours since our break, and it's growing darker."

She would have mentioned that they needed a break, but there was always a chance that their captain would forgo the idea simply because _he _didn't think of it. He was being extra touchy recently.

"Break for the night!" Sasuke called up to Sai, who was a few trees ahead. The pale boy stopped almost immediately and sent a dozen small ink mice to scout for a clearing.

"Oh boy, that was hard. You're a real slave-driver, Sasuke," Naruto's clone complained, catching up with them. The real Naruto followed closely as they all dropped out of the trees and followed Sai's mice.

"Quiet!" Sasuke hissed, "this is hunter-nin territory, and we're on the borders of Hi no Kuni."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Naruto retorted, clasping his hands behind his head, "we can deal with a bunch of _hunter-nin _any day."

"It means that if any of the hunter-nin drag us _Konoha nin_ into Tsuchi, we could start a political disaster," Sakura explained, "Taki is located in neutral land, but Tsuchi is close nearby and isn't allied to Hi no Kuni." She seemed to have developed a sharp eye for international relations and politics, something that Sasuke simply 'didn't have time for' and Naruto was absolutely confused by.

"This place should be alright," Sai's voice spoke up. The small mouse had led them into a small clearing on the banks of the river they were following. On one side were the streaming currents of water, and on the other side were the tall trees native to northern Hi. If they looked far enough down the river, they could just barely make out one of the waterfalls that it came from.

"Awesome! I can finally get all this grime off!" Naruto exclaimed, punching the air and eyeing the river.

"Sai, set up the tents," Sasuke instructed. He slipped his travel pack off his shoulders and looked warily around the clearing, "we're stopping early for the night, so we'll have to make up for it by waking up earlier."

Not hearing anything he was saying, Naruto was busily stripping off his clothes.

"Oi baka! Do that down there!" Sakura exclaimed, pointing further down the river.

"But…what if the hunter-nin attack?" Naruto whined, slipping off the mesh shirt under his jacket, "then I'll be all alone! It's best if we stay together," he threw his pants to one side and leapt into the river dressed in only his underpants.

"I feel the pain, Sakura, I do," Sasuke told her dryly, "but it'll be more trouble if he's out of our sight."

Behind them, Sai put up the last tent pole, and swung the cloth over, bolting it down. The standard-issue tents were large and meant for two people, so they had brought two. Sakura agreed to share one with Sai, since he displayed more than enough asexuality for her to be comfortable, and the Uchiha boy was stuck sharing a tent with Naruto.

"C-cold!" Naruto exclaimed, leaping out of the water and hugging himself, "it's cold!" He looked mournfully down at the water he was standing on top of, dreading the fact that he would have to go back inside.

"Good," Sasuke decided, arms crossed over his chest, "now that Naruto's certain to be fully awake for the next few hours, he can take the first guard shift. I'll go after him, and then Sai and Sakura."

"Right, taicho," Sakura smiled and settled down on the grass near her tent, "I'll be sure to wake everyone up bright and early."

Naruto gave her a baleful look and released the chakra in his feet, allowing himself to splash back down into the water. He could see clear as day that Sasuke was nervous, and he was trying his best to distract him with his typical Naruto-esque antics, but the Uchiha boy's slightly stiff walk and shifting eyes indicated that his nerves were still there.

More importantly, he was a slave-driver when he was nervous.

He scrubbed down his arms and watched Sasuke and Sakura settle down with ration bars while Sai took out his notebooks, drawing while they ate. The team dynamics he had observed over the last few weeks were…quite pleasant.

His two former teammates got along nicely. He didn't know why Sakura had stopped stuttering around Sasuke (and he had reasons that he _hoped _were true), but it was good news.

Despite his sadism, Sasuke was turning out to be a leader, able to easily command them into agreeing with him. Of course, he still lead by fear, but that would be remedied as he grew older. Sometimes, his ego still got in the way, but overall he was a good leader who kept an eye on each member of his team.

Sakura had become a mix of intellect and power. Unlike Sasuke's leadership by fear, she had a knack for persuasion that came in handy often. She thought of plans that could rival those of a Nara, and was the one who remained calm in stressful situations while Sasuke was blinded by his stubbornness and Naruto was held back by his impulsiveness and panic.

Along he was a later addition, Sai had fit in nicely. He blended into the background, supporting his taicho and fukutaicho with his silent skill. In the weeks since he had stopped calling him 'handsome', even Sasuke had warmed up to him.

"Naruto," Sasuke called, "get out of the water, we're heading in to sleep, so your shift begins now. Wake me up in four hours," with that, he stepped into the tent.

"Goodnight, Naruto-kun," Sakura waved. She turned to her tent-partner, "Sai, let me teach you how to sleep in a tent-"

"Sakura-san, I have slept in many tents," the confused boy replied, replied, following her through the flap.

"I mean, let me show you how to sleep in a tent with _me_…"

Naruto winced for the poor boy who was going to end up confined to one corner.

ooooo

When Sakura entered the other tent the next morning to wake up her teammates, she was greeted with a strange sight.

On one side of the tent was Sasuke, sleeping on his back and laying perfectly still as if he was in a coffin.

On the other side was Naruto, haphazardly sprawled across the blankets.

In the middle were their pillows, arranged like a border between them.

Sakura knelt forward and tapped her taicho's shoulder. He woke up almost instantly, eyes flying open and clouded for just a moment before he looked around and sat up in the tent.

"Time?" He asked, voice slightly rough after waking up.

"Five-thirty," Sakura reported, "Sai's doing the other tent. Um…what's this?" She pointed to the line of pillows, "it must be uncomfortable to sleep without pillows…"

"It's even _more _uncomfortable to sleep when your tent partner is trying to use you as a replacement to his side-pillow," Sasuke drawled, slipping out of the tent after her.

"Oh," Sakura winced, "well, if we travel at half-speed, we should be in Taki by noon."

Over to one side, Sai had finished bundling the tent up in a pack. He walked over to the other tent and slipped inside.

Sakura and Sasuke watched, amused, as Naruto was roughly thrown out.

"Oi! What are you doing!" The blond boy demanded, slightly woozy from having been woken up so quickly.

"I need to pack up the tent," the pale boy explained impassively, crawling back out to begin unbolting the cloth, "our taicho says we must be in Taki in six hours."

"…" Naruto muttered to himself while he straightened his clothes and threw his pack over his shoulders.

Strict to the schedule, they reached their destination at exactly eleven-fifty. The village of Takigakure was on raised land, and namesake waterfalls streamed down from its rivers. The four members of Team Sasuke stood below the central waterfall.

"So, how do we get in?" Naruto questioned, shielding his eyes from the sun as he looked up the steep rock cliff.

"We do not," Sai explained, "the village entrance is a well-kept secret."

"Eh? Then how are we going to get this statue thing?" He asked again.

"The village leader, Shibuki-sama, is going to come out and give it to us," Sakura explained, "this is where we're meeting him; at the base of the largest waterfall."

Beside her, Sasuke was simply glad that they were answering his annoying teammate's questioned for him. He slowly rubbed the dark circles over his eyes from where he had stayed up trying to position the pillows to keep Naruto away, and hoped for the mission to be over quickly.

In his pocket was a small note that he had found left for him during the night, on his watch. It was wrinkled from where he had clenched it so tightly in his hand.

ooooo

"So _this _is a precious artifact?"

Naruto held up the golden statue that was about the size of a small cat. It was…a bear holding a fish in its mouth. Badly sculpted, scratched up, the only use he could think of for it was to melt it back into gold and use the money to buy ramen. It was also vaguely familiar, but he couldn't place exactly where he had seen it before.

"It's very…artistic," Sakura attempted.

"It's not artistic at all," Sai observed, "it is rather ugly."

"_Stop _questioning the mission," Sasuke hissed, "our job is to get it safely back to Saborou-sama's house." They had retrieved the statue from a man named Shibuki, and were walking back along the river, leaving Taki and its waterfall behind them.

"I think we should take a break," Sakura spoke up, "then we can go ahead at half-speed for the rest of the day, and with one more break we can be back in Konoha by midnight."

"Alright," Sasuke conceded. His nerves were slowly wearing off since they had successfully completed half of the mission, "with that, we'll have finished the mission one day early. I don't like stopping here since we're in hunter-nin territory…but I think we can deal with them."

Most missing-nin were at jonin level, dangerous enough to actually pose a threat to their village. However, sometimes the occasional chunin would defect as well, for various reasons. Not powerful enough to stay by themselves, they gathered into small groups with other chunin-level missing-nin and made a living by collecting bounty money. Shinobi who walked through the forests would be hunted down by their groups and turned in to the bounty offices. Usually they only managed to capture lower-level jonin with their sheer numbers, but occasionally they would land a good catch.

Sakura sat down on the grass by the river and sighed, "if we can, we should try to eliminate them," she began.

Sai watched her curiously, sitting down nearby, "and why is that, Sakura-san?"

"Well, they pose a danger to all our fellow shinobi," she told him, tucking short pink hair behind her ear, "it's only our duty to help them out by eliminating the threat."

"But if it gets in the way, then we won't bother," Sasuke stated. He stood, looking out over the river and crossing his arms over his chest, "the mission comes first."

"Yeah, yeah," Naruto moved to slip off his shoes and splash his feet in shallow ends of the river water, "remember what sensei said? Those who don't follow the rules are scum, but those who abandon their friends are worse than scum."

"He's surprisingly wise sometimes," Sakura commented, looking up at the midday clouds from her spot on the grass, "just sometimes."

"Ch. That 'looking underneath the underneath' stuff is just him trying to sound deep, though," Sasuke commented.

"No, I think that has meaning behind it as well," she retorted, "there's no way sensei would _try _to be deep."

"Well, I have no idea what he means," Sasuke turned to watch Naruto disapprovingly, "Naruto, why have you been acting like such an idiot for the past day? You cannot honestly be _this _childish."

The blond boy simply walked out of the water and rubbed one foot against the other pant leg, drying it off. He gave his teammate a large grin, "I was just trying to distract you from your nerves, Sasuke-_taicho._"

"It worked!" Sakura giggled, "Sasuke-kun doesn't look like he wants to gut us all anymore!"

"His composition has improved," Sai said in his quiet tone, "but my nickname for him no longer suits him. It seems that he is not very handsome when he is happy instead of angry."

"Nice to know," Sasuke deadpanned.

"Shh, Sai!" Sakura admonished, "we like him better when he's _not_ being sadistic, remember?"

"Ch," Sasuke dropped his content look and settled with his usual feral smirk, "I learned _many things _from Anko-sensei."

"We know, Sasuke-kun, we know," Sakura soothed.

"We should have a party to celebrate Sasuke-teme officially being a jonin," Naruto declared, "I'm even willing to share my limited edition ramen!"

"I do not like ramen," Sai inserted bluntly, "it tastes very bad."

Naruto looked scandalized.

While they bickered over the taste of ramen, Sasuke sat down by Sakura and looked thoughtfully across the river, "I no longer have to call the other jonin 'sensei'," he commented.

"I'm sure our sensei would prefer 'Kakashi-sama' instead," Sakura agreed.

"Ch. He's going to be Kakashi-senpai."

"Then what about Anko? Why do you keep calling her 'sensei'?" She was genuinely curious, because apparently even Anko herself had given him permission to drop the title.

"She's different," Sasuke retorted, "_sensei _is almost a part of her name. Have I mentioned that she told me about-"

"Taicho!" Sai's voice suddenly broke into their conversation, "hunter-nin approaching in that direction," he pointed in the direction down the river, towards where they had come from Taki.

"Right," Sasuke immediately slipped back into his commanding voice, "Sakura! Sai! In formation! Naruto, give me the artifact," he held his hands out.

"Er, right!" Naruto hastily slipped on his other shoe and picked up the small gold statue, running over to where Sasuke was waiting to take it. In front of him were Sai, who was receiving the intel from his ink mouse, and Sakura, who had her fist ready to punch the ground and take out the hunter-nin that appeared.

The moment Naruto handed the statue over to his teammate's hand, both of them were thrown back by a sudden force.

"Naruto! Sasuke!" Sakura called, looking back briefly to see that they were slowly picking themselves up from the ground, golden statue held in one of Sasuke's hands. She turned to see that there was a man standing between the trees where the river banks ended.

"Sasuke?" The man asked, "so it's true, then. The last Uchiha is here."

He grinned widely. Maroon hair ran down his back in a loosely tied ponytail, and a small goatee of the same color was on his chin. He wore the mismatched colors of a rogue hunter-nin. Two other men appeared on either side of him, long blades in their hands.

"How much is he worth, Jako-sama?" One of the man asked, tapping his katana against his leg.

"Not much yet, but there are some _other _people who might want him," their leader, Jako, grinned widely, "Souji, get the reinforcements. He can't take down a small army of chunin."

The man on his left nodded and leapt back, disappearing back into the trees.

Jako turned back to the Konoha nin. In front of him was Sakura, waiting for her taicho's order to attack. Behind were Sasuke and Naruto, both looking down curiously at the blue ball sitting between them.

"So, you've gotten yourselves caught in my jutsu," the hunter-nin smirked, "even a _jonin _can't fight without his hand seals."

"Eh?" Sakura turned around to see what he meant.

Her two teammates looked ominously at the ball of blue…_stuff _that had stuck Naruto's left hand to Sasuke's right one. The golden statue lay in Sasuke's other hand, while he was busy gaping at the fact that they had _actually been taken off guard by a chunin-level hunter-nin. _So much for calming nerves.

"Ah! Get it off!" Naruto shrieked. He knew _exactly _what the stuff was. They had _faced _this man before in the future, as genin. Now, it seemed that after three years, Jako had become the leader of a hunter-nin group. _That _was why the statue had seemed familiar.

He whipped his hand to one side, trying to dislodge it from the ball of chakra. Instead of coming free, Sasuke went flying across his lap and onto the grass on his other side.

"Oi! Stop that!" Sasuke commanded, using the golden statue to push himself up from where he had been flung, "we'll deal with this…_thing _soon." He turned towards his other teammate, "Sakura! Capture him!"

"Right, taicho," she nodded with determination. Someone like him would be easy to beat. She pushed her chakra into one finger, and bent down to slam it into the ground.

The effect was immediate. Starting from her finger, the ground ruptured and created a large crack that headed directly for Jako's legs. The hunter-nin barely managed to throw himself out of the way in time as the gap in the earth reached him.

Sakura reached into her pocket and took out a glove, pulling it onto her hand with an audible snap. She narrowed her eyes at Jako, who was picking himself up, "undo that blue thing sticking Naruto and Sasuke's hands together," she instructed.

The man simply scowled, and stood up. He made as if to talk, but instead leapt back into the trees.

Naruto continued to kick at the ball, but he knew that it was no use. Even Jako could not remove it; it had to harden and come off by itself.

"Sakura! Pursue him!" Sasuke instructed, seeing the girl hesitate.

Sakura instead looked around, eyes narrowed, "where's Sai?!"

With that, Sasuke and Naruto stopped trying to pull the blue ball off and looked around the banks. Their fourth teammate was nowhere to be seen.

"Argh!" Naruto yelled, standing up and dragging Sasuke with him through their connected hands, "this sucks!" He stomped angrily.

"Where is that pale idiot?" Sasuke hissed, trying not be to pushed around by the blond boy's antics. He looked down to make sure that the statue was still there.

"Naruto," Sakura made her way over and pushed him out of the way, pointing at the ground, "look!"

At their feet, covering the leaves, was a splash of black liquid.

"Sasuke-kun, your shirt!" She pointed at his side. The three turned to see that there was a large, black stain.

"That's…what happens when you kill one of Sai's ninpou ink mice, isn't it?" Naruto asked, dread building up inside him.

"You idiot!" Sasuke erupted, "Sai sent one of his mice with a message for us and you threw me at it while you were trying to get this _thing _off!"

Naruto backed away slightly at the dark look in his teammate's eyes. It seemed that one of Sasuke's worst fears had just come true. He had run into trouble during his very first mission as leader.

He watched nervously as the Uchiha boy struggled to calm himself down. Sakura opened her mouth to give instructions, she closed it immediately, knowing that their taicho would _not _like it if his second-in-command began giving orders.

"What if…Sai was captured?" She said instead, biting her lip, "maybe that other man took him, the one on Jako's right."

"He's an anbu!" Naruto retorted, "he can't be captured by a bunch of chunin-level hunter-nin!"

"Well, considering that _we _were taken off guard," Sasuke began, "maybe he made a mistake."

Naruto didn't think so at all, but he had no arguments otherwise, and it wouldn't be wise to anger the Uchiha boy even more.

"We have to finish the mission…" Sasuke trailed, biting his lip.

"We can't just leave Sai behind!" Sakura protested.

"Um, I think a member of the anbu will be able to handle a few-"

"Shut up, dobe."

Dobe shut up. He looked at Sasuke's worried expression with a frown. The boy was panicking, he could tell. The result of this mission was being scrutinized by every council member, after all.

"Listen," Sasuke finally said, "The mission is important, and we have to get the statue delivered with minimal trouble," he turned to the pink-haired girl, "Sakura, take the statue back to Hi no Kuni at half speed. Do not stop to deal with any hunter-nin, just keep going. I will find Sai, and catch up with you by travelling at full speed."

"And what about me?" Naruto asked.

"Yes, what _about _you, dobe?" Sasuke deadpanned, waving their hands, which were intertwined inside the blue ball, "you'll be coming with me. We'll figure out how to deal with this thing, and then go after Sai."

"Right," Sakura agreed, happy that their captain didn't think of leaving a teammate behind. She took the gold statue from Sasuke's outstretched hands and turned to leap into the trees, going down the river and towards Hi no Kuni.

Sasuke turned to look at the blue ball, and then up at Naruto.

"Trust me," Naruto told him seriously, "it'll have to come off by itself. There's no other way to get it off. I've…heard of something like this before."

The Uchiha boy slowly calmed himself down and pondered it, "well, they'll come back with the reinforcements soon. The good thing is that we can still use rasengan and Chidori one-handed, but our taijutsu will be heavily limited."

"We'll worry about that later," Naruto shrugged.

Sasuke sighed, and looked into the clearing, "we'll take on that _small army of chunin _he mentioned _any day. _I'll taller than you, so you'll have to work to keep up with me," he instructed.

"Yeah, well I'm _faster _than you," Naruto huffed, "so _you _should be trying to keep up with _me_." He was getting slightly tired of Sasuke's new ego, and he suspected that their anbu teammate would be just fine.

After falling out of many trees, they found that the three-legged race was harder than it seemed.

ooooo

"Sakura-san!"

Haruno Sakura started at the mention of her name, but continued leaping through the tree branches, clutching the pack with the golden statue tightly. She had been instructed not to stop, even for hunter-nin who seemed to know her name.

"Sakura-san!"

The voice came again, and it was disturbingly familiar. She frowned a little, and figured it wouldn't hurt to at least see who it was. None of the hunter-nin in the territory were any match for her, after all. Sakura dragged her foot on the branch and slowed her pace, leaning to a stop on the next tree. She held the pack against her chest with one hand and turned, fist ready to deliver a punch.

Instead, she saw something that made her pause, and lower her fist.

From the distance, an unmistakably pale boy was making her way towards her. He leapt across the last branch and landed right next to her, placing a bland smile on his face.

"S-Sai?" She stuttered.

"Yes, that is my name," the boy nodded, "where are taicho and Naruto-kun?"

"Um…" Sakura looked at the boy in confusion, "where did you go? We thought that the hunter-nin had taken you to lure Sasuke in."

"You mentioned before that it was our duty to take them out," Sai explained, "so I went to deal with Jako's men, who were leaving to call reinforcements."

"You idiot!" She erupted, "you can't just run off in a mission without telling us! Do you have any idea how worried we were?!"

"I did tell you," the pale boy looked taken aback, "I sent one of my mice to inform you that I would be back in a while. However, by the time I returned no one was there. One of the trails I found lead south, and the other lead west, towards where I had come from. So I thought the one that led south may have been left by the three of you, and followed it."

"You…sent a mouse?" Sakura gaped.

"Yes," Sai nodded, "did it not reach you?"

Sakura merely looked on nervously, clenching the pack with the golden statue even harder.

"So _that's _what that mouse was for?..."

ooooo

Many kilometers north, near the great falls of Taki, Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke stood by the water. In front of them, covering the trees and littered along the banks, were grinning hunter-nin, looking like they had just won a lottery.

"This…might take a while," Sasuke said bluntly. They couldn't use any jutsu except for rasengan and chidori, their speeds were out of sync, and they were outnumbered. Even if their opponents were far weaker, they could use their pure numbers to an advantage.

He bit his lip hard and wished that everything would just _stop. _They hadn't found Sai, but the 'reinforcements' had found them. This mission was supposed to be _perfect, flawless. Nothing _was supposed to go wrong. When he got back, the council would shake their heads and look away from their prodigy, and Kakashi-sensei would sigh and rub his masked chin.

Uchiha Sasuke was supposed to be a prodigy. He gritted his teeth and couldn't help but think that Itachi would have never been in a position like this. For _that man, _something like this would be ridiculously easy, a mere lower B-rank in the face of someone who had whizzed through S-ranks at the age of thirteen. Sasuke felt an unpleasant twist in his insides as the thoughts he had been compressing for years came back up to the forefront of his mind.

Itachi had been A-rank jonin level at thirteen. Sasuke was higher B-rank jonin at fifteen. Itachi had the respect of every council member at thirteen after having earned it. Sasuke was being given a free ride as Konoha's pet prodigy at fifteen. Itachi's first mission in the anbu had required him to kill five men at thirteen. Sasuke's missions at thirteen consisted of escorting VIPs and getting attacked by the occasional bandit. It was far more than what most other shinobi could hope to accomplish by that age, but he did not measure himself by normal standards. In his eyes, he was almost a failure.

Even though Sakura had gone back and would probably safely deliver the statue, there were _other _ways to fail. This mark would be on his record _forever. _Uchiha Sasuke had allowed one of his teammates to get captured during a mission.

And Anko-sensei, he _dreaded _facing her after not having a perfect mission. Anko-sensei was scary and yelled at him enough when she was _happy, _he didn't want to know what she would be like if she was _disappointed…_

The small paper note crinkled in his pocket, reminding him that he had yet _another _task to fulfill. But how on earth could he do _that _if he couldn't even protect one teammate? He almost felt angry tears rising with his stress levels.

"Aw, Sasuke, are you going to cry?" Naruto retorted, trying to urge his friend to lose the self-pity. But he frowned when he saw the real look under the boy's impassive exterior.

"I don't cry," the boy replied, bringing up one hand in defense as the chunin approached him.

"Really? I think I saw a few tears that time when-"

"Shut up dobe," lightning pooled in Sasuke's left hand and he blinked away the angry tears as he narrowed his eyes at the group of hunter-nin approaching, "people are _allowed _to cry when their arm is being reintroduced to its socket."

**ooooo**

**Just to clarify, the 'hunter-nin' here aren't like the ones in Kiri, these are just lower-level missing-nin who collect bounty money (like Kakuzu, except much weaker). A level above common bandits. **

**Any guessed as to what was on the note Sasuke found? Leave a review, I would love to hear your ideas ^^**


	28. Naruto's Idea & Sasuke's Decision

**Chapter 28: Naruto's Idea & Sasuke's Decision**

The group of missing-nin that had become their hunters were approaching quickly. Naruto frowned; clearly, Sai should have been able to handle himself against something like this.

They fought off the first few bandit-nin with pure taijutsu, occasionally tripping and trying to account for each other's moves. It was soon clear, however, that they would be overwhelmed by the other group's numbers. One man's doton jutsu had caused a hand to spring out of the ground and almost snare Sasuke's ankle.

It was too bad he wasn't allowed to use Kyuubi's powers. One giant chakra hand would take them all out in a single go. Unfortunately, Sasuke had no strong jutsu that only required him to use one hand, and he couldn't perform a summoning one-handed either.

"Rasengan!" he drove another blue spiraling ball into someone's stomach, sending them flying into three others.

There was always the possibility of trying to use a powerful jutsu on the blue chakra ball in the hopes that it would disintegrate, but that would probably take out their hands as well. So that left…

"Sasuke, I know a jutsu that'll take them all out!" Naruto yelled to his teammate as he punched another man in the face and deflected a blade coming at his shoulder.

"Wonderful!" The Uchiha boy yelled back, "do it!"

"But you'll have to get out of the way!" Naruto exclaimed, "it might hurt you!"

"Just do it," Sasuke snapped, "don't _doubt _me!"

Fine. Naruto stepped back from another punch and crouched down, allowing more chakra to pool into his hand. It eventually reached the level of a normal rasengan, but he kept adding chakra, causing it to grow. The fact that it was one-handed diminished the power a little, but it was enough for a group of bandits with weak ninjutsu.

"Oodama rasengan!" He yelled, leaping upwards with a blue ball of whirling chakra that was quickly growing larger than his body. Naruto held it in front of him and allowed it to grow even larger, dragging Sasuke behind him to keep him away from the damage.

As the ball expanded and swirled, more of the bandit-nin were caught in it, and the others began to retreat quickly. Sasuke remained carefully behind his teammate, looking curiously at the growing rasengan.

Naruto sighed as he watched the bandit-nin get thrown into trees.

This was total overkill.

ooooo

When Sakura and Sai arrived, breathless at the base of the waterfall, their worries were quickly washed away. Sakura, in particular, breathed a sigh of relief when it seemed that her head was no longer going to be stuck on a dango stick and fed to the forest animals.

"Ch. Good one, dobe," their taicho stated, patting down his clothes, "it seems you can be rather useful sometimes-"

"No, I won't marry you," Naruto stated.

"…did I ask?"

"Not in the exact words, but with all that praise you might as well have asked," the blond boy retorted, "now we have to find Sai."

"What…did you do to them?" Sakura asked carefully, walking over to her teammates and looking at the collapsed, groaning group of bandit-nin. Many had been thrown into trees, or were lying along the band with the front of their shirts scratched off. Some of them were trying to pick themselves up but, upon seeing the newcomers, decided to move in the opposite direction.

"Oodama Rasengan!" Naruto said proudly, "they all went flying…wait, Sakura-chan? _Sai?_ Sakura-chan, did you go rescue him?"

"I was not captured," the boy stated, "I had sent a message to tell you that I had gone after those who were getting reinforcements, but you misinterpreted it as a distress call."

Sasuke had never felt sillier in his life. He groaned and rubbed his head in his one free hand.

"It's ok, taicho. Mistakes happen," Sakura soothed, "we'll all head back to Konoha at full speed. Given the delay, we'll have to make camp somewhere, but we'll be back before the official end of the mission time."

The Uchiha boy was so lost in his thoughts that he forgot to admonish Sakura for giving out orders.

ooooo

It was only after travelling for five hours at full speed that Sasuke decided to relent.

"Alright," he called, "we'll stop. Sai, find a clearing."

The other boy nodded from his position up front. Various small ink mice appeared from where they had been out scouting and gathered at his feet, listening to their new orders. Once they had them, they dispersed again.

The four of them followed Sai to the clearing he had found. Due to the blue ball sticking their hands together, Naruto and Sasuke had no way to actually remove their packs apart from cutting the cords, so they kept them on.

Almost immediately after quickly setting up the tents, Sai sat down near a tree with his sketchpad and a few pencils lying beside him. Most of his drawings were not _of _the trees, but _inspired by _the trees. They were abstracts that Naruto scratched his head at, Sakura pretended to like, and Sasuke was generally puzzled by.

Naruto watched as Sakura helped them retrieve ration bars from the packs that stayed on their backs, and handed a few to them. While Sai preferred to spend some time by himself during their breaks, his other two teammates liked to eat together and converse. It was the perfect time to do something he had been thinking about for a long time.

"Sasuke, Sakura-chan, there's something that I have to tell you," he began, "but it's classified information."

"_You _have classified information?" Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"Well, seeing the way you act around Hokage-sama, I wouldn't be surprised," Sakura said dryly.

"Well, can we just go inside?" He said quietly. His two teammates looked at him strangely, but complied, following him inside the tent. Sasuke awkwardly managed to get a face full of Naruto's behind on the way, and cursed the stupid blue ball once again.

"Is this about Sai?" Sakura asked softly, "something about him being in the anbu? I already know that he wasn't part of the normal anbu force."

"No, it's just that he's probably still loyal to Danzo, and its better if he doesn't hear certain things. I trust Sai, but not his superior," Naruto explained.

Sometimes, his words were simple and enthusiastic, and he spoke with the vocabulary of the average ten-year-old. In these times, Sasuke and Sakura both knew that he was fooling around, and that it was best not to take him too seriously.

But there were other times. Times when a small crease appeared in his forehead and brief intelligence appeared in his expression. In times like these, his two teammates unconsciously knew that something important was happening, and that Naruto wasn't being his normal, idiotic self.

"What is it?" Sasuke asked, eyes narrowed.

"Well, I'm not sure if I should say…"

"So you've brought us here to peak our curiosity and now you'll leave us hanging?" The Uchiha boy raised an eyebrow

"No," Naruto sighed, "it's just that…I'm not sure what you'll think of me if I tell you."

There was silence as they all contemplated this. Sasuke and Sakura were mature enough to know that putting things in the open was not always the best thing to do. Slowly, they had both grown to like their blond teammate and now, he was an important part of their team once again. They didn't want that bond to break, but they _also _wanted to know.

"Listen," Sasuke began, "it all depends on what you're going to say. If you're going to tell us that you've found out who your parents were and they weren't the best of people, we'll understand and won't think badly of you. However, if you're going to confess that you're in love with Kakashi-senpai, then we don't need to hear it and you need to rethink the decisions you're making in life."

"Oi!" Naruto protested, "where did that come from?"

"Well, you live with him," Sakura started.

"You spend all your free time in his apartment with him," Sasuke added.

"He refers to you as his cute student on a daily basis-"

"He does that with you too! It has nothing to do with sensei," Naruto declared, "it's…a different matter."

In his future timeline, Sakura had learned about the Kyuubi while he had been away with Ero-Sennin, and Sasuke had been informed by Orochimaru. When he came back, his friends had all accepted him, but he didn't know exactly how long something like that had taken. After all, if he remembered correctly Sakura's family business had almost been completely ruined by the attack fifteen years ago.

"Go on, Naruto," Sakura sighed, "whatever you're going to tell us, we'll still respect you afterwards."

Sasuke coughed.

"Well, _I'll _still respect you," she conceded, "and we can beat some sense into Sasuke-kun together, ok?"

Sasuke wisely decided not to protest.

"Do you two know about…the Kyuubi attack?" Naruto began hesitantly. He had already started, and there was no way to back down. If he gave up now, Sakura would never stop pestering him out of curiosity.

"My parents told me that they were instructed to take me and evacuate the houses," Sakura nodded, "we stayed in the hospital, which was one of the buildings strong enough to withstand the backlash of Kyuubi's chakra."

"Ch," Sasuke retorted, "my…parents helped fight while _that man _and I apparently hid in the basement."

"You know you're referring to a five-year-old as a man-"

"Shut up and continue."

"Fine," Naruto sighed, "well, do you know what happened to the Kyuubi?"

"Yondaime-sama dealt with him," Sasuke replied, "we were told that he sacrificed his soul to the Death God to seal the fox away."

"That's only part of the story. You see, a bijuu can never be completely destroyed like that. He could only seal away its Yin chakra," he continued, "but its Yang chakra still had to remain in existence."

"Yin…chakra?" Sasuke frowned. It seemed that Kakashi had not yet explained the Yin and Yang natures while he instructed him in nature manipulation. That wasn't too surprising; most never learned about it until they made jonin, unless they had a bloodline like the Naras or the Yamanakas.

"Just imagine it as half of its chakra," Naruto conceded, "Yondaime-sama had to find a place to seal the other half."

"Did he…create a Jinchuuriki?" Sasuke caught on quickly, "like what Kakashi-senpai told us while explaining how he got his Mangekyou?"

"Yes, he did. Except, a Jinchuuriki has to be very young for the sealing to remain successful," Naruto bit his lip, "so he had to find a baby to seal the Yang chakra in..."

Sasuke and Sakura both grew still, somewhat anticipating what they were about to hear, but not fully believing it until they heard him say it. They both already knew that he had been born on the day of the attack, and the fact that he was telling them meant that there was a connection…

"…and at the time, Yondaime-sama's wife had just had a baby. His wife's name was…Uzumaki Kushina," he finished softly. The fact that Kushina had been a Jinchuuriki was _highly _classified, and so he stopped there.

There was silence again. Sasuke was looking at him, but his eyes seemed to look past his actual form, off into the distance. Sakura was looking down at her hands, deep in thought.

"So," she was the first to begin, "you're the Jinchuuriki son of the Yondaime Hokage. That's…" She bit her lip, "that's why everyone told us to stay away from you."

"Yeah," Naruto replied, "but…I'm not the Kyuubi. Some people think that the bijuu is somehow part of the person, but I'm Uzumaki Naruto, I just…happen to have Kyuubi sealed inside me."

_Why are you telling these smaller humans? _A voice asked from within his head.

_I trust them, Kurama. They need to know, _Naruto replied unwaveringly, _I know they won't think anything bad of me, and Kakashi-sensei already told them that the Jinchuuriki are like…silent heroes._

_You're the loudest thing I've ever met, _Kurama remarked, _if you're a hero, you're definitely not a silent one. Well, if they must know…_

He looked up to see that Sasuke was still staring at him. Certain things were probably coming together in his mind. Naruto's ridiculous amounts of chakra, the number of clones he could create, the reason all the adults had stayed away from him…

"Oi teme," Naruto deadpanned, "do I have something on my face?"

"Sasuke?" Sakura asked, slightly worried, "it doesn't matter, we don't care."

"Ch," the Uchiha boy looked pointedly away and ran his one free hand through his hair, "still a dobe."

He was probably the only one who could make that term endearing.

"More importantly," the Uchiha boy continued, "how are we going to sleep with this…thing?" He peered at the blue ball sticking their hands together while Naruto and Sakura burst into relieved smiles.

ooooo

"So," the Sandaime Hokage took his pipe out of his mouth and looked at the four shinobi standing in front of him, "any other issues?"

"No, Hokage-sama," Sasuke reported stiffly, "after verifying that our team member was not captured, we headed directly to the daimyo's house and delivered the statue to Saburou-sama."

They had reentered Konoha early that morning, and headed straight for the Hokage's tower to report their success. Despite the 'Sai' issue, he didn't admonish Sasuke for his unusual decision.

"And are you going to tell me about…that?"

Sasuke self-consciously pulled Naruto closer so that he could hide the blue ball behind their backs. The material had just begun to harden and become brittle, but it would take another two days or so before it broke off.

"A minor inconvenience," he replied stiffly, "nothing to be concerned about. I will include it in the report."

The Sandaime's eyes shone with humor as he regarded Sasuke's blank look and Naruto's discomfort, "well, it is a mission well done. Remember to have the full mission report in sometime today. You are dismissed, Team Sasuke."

The four nodded and let the room. Naruto smiled at the thought of 'Team Sasuke'. He was content to be Sasuke's subordinate for the moment. When he became Hokage, Sasuke would definitely have a position as the head of his jonin.

Outside, Anko was waiting for them. The kunoichi flashed her student a bright smile.

"So your first mission was a success, eh? Stop being such a worrier, boy," she slapped him hard on the back playfully and he almost fell over.

Sasuke tried to regain the lost air in his lungs, "t-thank you, Anko-sensei. Maybe next time when I get to choose a team, you can be one of my subordinates."

Mitarashi Anko practically growled at him, "don't get too cheeky, brat."

"Yo," another voice wafted down the hallway. They all turned to see Kakashi approaching them, his eye crinkling in an almost relieved smile. Beside their sensei was a fourth man, and Naruto tried not to burst into a grin and strictly reminded himself that he wasn't supposed to know him yet.

"Sorry I'm late," their sensei said sheepishly, "I needed to feed my cat. For some reason, he doesn't like milk."

Beside him, former operative Tenzou coughed.

"I didn't know you had a pet, senpai," Anko, as a former member of anbu, already knew the actual meaning but she couldn't help but make him go on.

"Well, I do know," their sensei sighed dramatically, "The poor thing came looking for me, tired and hungry and homeless. What could I do but be a gentleman and take him in?"

Naruto was having trouble keeping his laughter in, and began to release it by coughing and spluttering.

"If you've finished having fun," the younger, brown-haired man said between gritted teeth, "you mentioned introducing me to your students, senpai."

"Oh, right. These are my cute students Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura," he pointed at each of them, "and my subordinate Sai. You already know Mitarashi Anko."

"I thought you'd be in the anbu until you were old and grey," Anko raised an eyebrow, "who knew…"

"Nice to meet you," Sakura smiled, "are you a friend of Kakashi-sensei?"

Former operative Tenzou coughed again.

"Well, Sakura," Kakashi began, "this is Yamato. He's my minion."

"Your…minion?" Sasuke asked, amusedly looking at the other man.

"Indeed," his sensei nodded seriously, "he's agreed to enslave himself to me for the next few months."

"…who is he really?" Sakura narrowed her eyes, "_no one _would willingly be _your _minion, sensei."

"Well, Naru-kun has already attained minion-hood, and I seem to recall _you _volunteering, Sakura-chan," he pointed out.

"Only because I felt sorry for you," she replied dryly.

"Er…my name is Yamato, and I'm a former anbu captain," the younger man finally decided to introduce himself, "I'm currently on probation period under a jonin-senpai, which is why I will be accompanying Kakashi-senpai on all his missions for the next few months. It's very nice to meet you all and I'm sure we'll work well together."

"Poor you," Sakura winced, "sensei's a slave driver."

"Awesome!" Naruto erupted, "we'll get along great, Yamato-senpai!" he turned to Sasuke, "come on, teme, I need to pee."

Sasuke groaned as he was dragged down the hall, "not again!"

"Ha!" Anko grinned as she watched her student, "have fun, brat!"

ooooo

In reality, the blue ball sticking them together was a blessing in disguise. The wrinkled note in Sasuke's pocket remained hidden and _not_ acted upon for the next two days. Of course, by that time both he and Naruto stank after the boy had stoutly refused to take a bath because he would not cut off the sleeve of his precious jumpsuit. They spent their time inside Kakashi's apartment reading, and hoping that no one would come to visit them and learn that they were stuck together.

"One, two! One, two!" Sakura yelled, watching her two teammates standing in the middle of the training grounds.

With each yell, Naruto and Sasuke pulled their arms, hoping to crack the hardened ball with force.

"One, two!" They pulled their arms as hard as they could, straining with effort.

"Allow me," Yamato decided, thinking that he could be of use. He knelt down and put his hands together, collecting doton in his left and suiton in his right. Finally, he pushed his hands into the ground.

Two large pillars of wood rose up to smash into the sides of the rock-hard ball, creating a small quake with the pressure. For a moment, Naruto and Sasuke stood still. Then the shock began to travel through their bodies, and the pieces of the chakra ball dropped to the ground.

"Yamato-senpai!" Naruto wailed, "you broke my little finger!"

"It'll be alright," Kakashi waved dismissively, "it looks like it's only sprained."

Sasuke took a moment to flex all his fingers, making sure none of them were broken. Satisfied, he turned to their newest member, "thank you, Yamato-san. That was much faster. But…I'm curious about that jutsu," he frowned at the wooden pillars, "is it a doton jutsu?"

"No," Yamato smiled, "my bloodline limit allows me to use the mokuton, I control wood. It was Shodai-sama's bloodline."

Kakashi coughed, "and what do you have to do?"

"…pass it on," the younger man sighed.

"What does that mean?" Sakura asked, confused, "what does he have to do?" She looked between the two.

"Something that you don't need to know," the masked jonin told her, "do any of you actually want to train?"

"It's almost eight o'clock," Naruto complained, "I want to go eat dinner and wait for my broken finger to fix itself."

"Fix…itself?" Sasuke caught. He was becoming incredible perceptive.

"Yeah," Naruto grinned, "Kyuubi gives me really fast healing."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow, "they know about that?"

"Of course! I told them during the mission," the blond boy huffed, "Sai doesn't know yet, though." The pale boy had left for his quarters a while ago.

"My mokuton abilities are useful in controlling the Kyuubi," Yamato offered, "in case you ever find yourself releasing its powers, I can help," Kakashi had already informed him beforehand that one of his students was the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi.

With that, Naruto's eyes widened. A possibility that he had never thought of rose in his mind, and he stilled. If there was even a hint of a chance…

"Naruto? Are you alright?" Kakashi asked quickly, narrowing his eye.

"I…I'm fine. I was just thinking about something," Naruto said dismissively. It was definitely something to try, and he wanted to try as soon as possible. He gave his sensei a quick, serious look, indicating that he needed to speak with him.

"I'm going to retire for today," Sasuke announced, "I need a bath. My first mission as leader is finally over with. It was…enjoyable," he had a strange look in his eyes, "you two and Sai…we were a good team," he paused for a second to look at both Naruto and Sakura, as if internalizing their looks in his mind.

With that, he turned and walked quickly out of the training grounds.

"Was that…Sasuke?" Naruto tilted his head to one side.

"Something's wrong with him," Sakura told him quietly, "he's been acting strange ever since he got back, I can tell. It's been a whole two days since he's insulted either of us. We should have expected at least a few death threats after what happened on that mission."

"…and that's how you know something's _wrong _with him?" Yamato questioned.

Naruto bit his lip, pondering certain possibilities. He had no proof and there was no reason to think about those things, but…well, maybe he was just depressed

"Sakura-chan," he turned to give her a serious look, "could you…stay with him? Just for a little while. To make sure he's ok."

"Sure," she nodded, "I was planning to, I'm worried about him," she turned and left to follow their other teammate.

With that, Naruto turned back to the masked jonin, "Kakashi-sensei, we need to tell Yamato-senpai about it."

"Eh? Tell me what?" The brown-haired man leaned in, brushing brown hair off the Nidaime-style hitai-ite.

"Why?" Kakashi raised an eyebrow. Seeing the determined look on his student's face, he sighed, "alright, let's go back to our apartment."

"Wait…_our _apartment?" Yamato questioned, tilting his head. It was rather hard to see the extremely solitary Dog sharing a place with anyone.

"Kashi-sensei lives with me!" Naruto announced proudly.

"Mou…it's _you _that lives with _me,_" the masked jonin corrected, following him out of the training grounds.

Yamato simply shook his head in wonder.

Half an hour later, Yamato and Kakashi were sitting on a couch while an over-excited Naruto was practically bouncing on where he was sitting on the table, hope rising within him as he reconsidered his idea.

"My mother and father left part of their chakra inside of me while the Kyuubi was being sealed and I think you could help control me with your mokuton jutsu because I need to release eight tails before my father will appear and I might injure my body if I go too far-"

"Breathe, Naru-kun, breathe," Kakashi advised, "he's not understanding anything," the jonin leaned back on the sofa and watched the younger man beside him stiffen with shock.

"Wait, I understood that you want to release _eight-tails_?" He hissed, "do you know how dangerous that is? Senpai, talk some sense into your student! He's not even supposed to _touch _Kyuubi's chakra!" He seemed shocked that Kakashi would even allow something like this to be considered.

"He knows what he's talking about, Tenzou-kun," the masked jonin replied simply, "just hear him out."

"It's Yamato now, senpai," the brown-haired man corrected. He turned back to the younger boy, "explain."

Naruto took a deep breath, "listen, when Yondaime-sama sealed the Kyuubi's Yang chakra into me, he also left a piece of his own chakra and some my mother's. It was meant to re-strengthen the seal in case I ever went too far."

"That would be wise, seeing as Jinchuuriki seals are often unstable," Yamato nodded thoughtfully.

"Yes," Naruto agreed, "my father was a genius with fuuinjutsu, he learned the Uzumaki fuuinjutsu style," he reached down to lift up his jumpsuit and reveal his stomach, channeling chakra into it so that the seal became visible, "this is the seal he used. There are two Shishou Fuuin combined together," he traced the symbols along the edges.

"They create the Hakke no Fuuin Shiki," he explained, "one of the strongest chakra seals in existence, and able to even hold back the Kyuubi." During their travels together, Jiraiya had explained everything he knew of the seal, even though it was an archaic topic that even _he _had taken years to figure out. The knowledge of Uzumaki fuuinjutsu had sadly died with Kushina and her husband.

"I don't know much about fuuinjutsu," Yamato admitted, "but what are you trying to tell me?"

"Inside this seal lies some of my parents chakra, and along with it is a part of their consciousness," he went on, "but it's keyed to only be released at a certain times. Those times are when I release my eight tail in chakra form, and when I am about to go into my version-two transformation, solid form. If I get to those stages, I will be able to talk to them. Of course, it's probably too dangerous to attempt a version-two transformation yet, but I can at least release eight tails."

Yamato rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "I can see what you want to do, but this is far to risky, Naruto-kun. My mokuton is not as powerful as that of the Shodai. I can only be certain to restrain six tails of Kyuubi's chakra. Any more, and it is a gamble. Sandaime-sama would never allow this, you're not even supposed to be using a _single _tail."

"And what if the Kyuubi helped you?" Kakashi asked, raising an eyebrow, "what if you weren't trying to fight against him, but only aiding him in making sure Naruto doesn't accidently overload himself?"

"Then it would be much easier," Yamato said dryly, "if only."

"But he _will_ help," Naruto spoke up, "his name is Kurama, by the way. He's my pet, and one of my wonderful friends."

_Oi brat. Don't exaggerate, _Kurama spoke up from within his prison.

Yamato spluttered on his own saliva.

"What's so wrong about it?" Kakashi raised an eyebrow playfully, "I have a Cat, and he has a Demon Fox."

"You're joking," Yamato looked from his masked senpai to the grinning blond boy, "you're joking, right?" But the look beyond Kakashi's crinkled eye was dead serious.

"I'm not," Naruto told him softly, "listen, you have to follow sensei around, right?"

"Yes…" Yamato responded rather suspiciously.

"Will you help us fight against the threats to our village?" He asked in a voice that was far too serious to belong to a fifteen-year-old hyperactive boy, "and protect Kakashi-sensei?"

"That…what being a shinobi is for," the brown-haired man replied carefully, "and I think senpai would probably be the one doing the protecting."

"Good," Kakashi smiled, well aware of the younger man's loyalty to his village and his teammates, "then we can tell you everything."

ooooo

Within his bedroom, Uchiha Sasuke clutched the soft carpet within his fingers, watching as his hands grew pale. His knees dug into it, toes curling as he remained on the floor with the small note opened in front of him.

"_Uchiha Hideout"_

Below the words was small map, relating the hideout location to three common landmarks.

There were only two words, but Sasuke was able to understand far more. He saw the elegant, slanted writing, and the barely visible dot on the 'i'. He thought about all the times he had tried to copy the beautiful calligraphy with his clumsy, six-year-old hands.

_That man _had grown impatient. Sasuke was supposed to hunt him down, but he hadn't even tried. Itachi had even grown tired of waiting. It was a disgrace.

_I'm only fifteen. I've only just made jonin! _

No, that was no excuse. Itachi had been jonin level at thirteen, and Sasuke's sixteenth birthday was only a month away. The part of him that badly wanted to see _him _dead was slowly rising up.

Sasuke stood up, trying to calm himself down. He ran a hand through his hair, still wet from his bath. It was time. He had been waiting for this moment for years, and it was finally here. And now that the accursed ball connecting him to Naruto was gone, he would take the chance. If he didn't, he wouldn't just be a weakling; he would be a coward.

For some reason, Sakura had stayed with him all evening, making incessant chatter and browsing through his family scrolls to see if there were any doton jutsu she could use. He had frowned, because she had been acting suspicious, like she _knew _something. Luckily, she left at eight o'clock, playfully stating that her family's dinner was much better than his rice seasoning and tomatoes.

He looked outside the window to see that it had already grown dark, and people were retreating back to their houses for the night. He smiled wryly, leaving in the night without a trace. How classic.

Could he really defeat Uchiha Itachi? It was far from certain, but there was a chance. Sasuke was confident that he would be able to keep up with shinobi like Kakashi and Gai at least, and Itachi could not be too far above them. The Mangekyou Sharingan? Sasuke had already decided he didn't need it. He knew the techniques that it could use, and from what Kakashi had said, he was aware of the amount of chakra it used.

If he could tire Itachi down, he could win. Despite his prodigal techniques, Uchiha Itachi was a well known low-chakra type, and his stamina was his only weakness.

But it was unlikely that he would come away unscratched. What if he had to take Itachi down with him? Could be sacrifice his own life for it? That had always been his purpose of living, but now…

Sasuke bit his lip angrily, tasting blood. He would do it. He would _not _lose sight of his true purpose. Naruto and Sakura and Kakashi and Anko had been wonderful additions to his life, but the time had come to fulfill its _real _purpose and he could not let them hold him back by telling them. If he came back alive, it would be a gift. If he died, then he would take that murderer down with him

Making his decision, he grabbed his jonin flak jacket and travel pack and slipped them on, attaching a weapons pouch to his belt. His Fuma Shuriken went on his hip, swirled in its closed position. He turned to see the Uchiha katon jutsu scroll lying open on his desk from where he had stolen it from his dead father's study, and went to roll it up and place it on the shelf. Even if all the Uchiha were gone, maybe someone would see it and learn the powerful jutsu contained inside.

_You can fight however you want, _the memory of Kakashi's voice breezed through his mind, _but to win, you need a plan. A weaker shinobi can take down a stronger one if he uses his brain more than he uses his fists._

He had somewhat of a plan, and he hoped that it would work. Itachi's prowess was in shurikenjutsu; in taking the small, metal hand weapons and using them to bring kage-level opponents to their knees. It was the pinnacle of his skill that he could kill many powerful shinobi without performing a single hand seal. He was an anbu, after all; he dealt with his enemies silently, covertly.

Before learning the genjutsu that came with the Sharingan, Sasuke had made a name for himself with his Fuma Shuriken. This would be a battle of Uchiha shurikenjutsu.

Exiting his apartment, he made his way out of the compound, paper note folded in his pocket. It was almost completely dark, he guessed that it was nearing ten o'clock. He took one last look at the place he had lived in for over seven years, and a small smile pulled at his lips.

No one had ever visited until that one day when Naruto had come barging in as if he owned the place. He hadn't _let _anyone visit. But now there were still some ramen cups and dango sticks lying on the floor, and Sakura's flowery scent smothered the place.

He planned to come back, but there was always the chance he wouldn't. After all, killing Itachi was more important than coming back. Avenging the wronged souls of his clan was more important than pretending to like dango.

It wasn't as if he had a choice anyway. He could eat and willingly agree that it was the most heavenly thing he'd ever tasted, or wait for Anko to stick them into his mouth and force him to chew.

Taking revenge for his parents was more important than suffering through Sai's nicknames.

It had started with 'handsome', before the pale boy had expanded his vocabulary and had begun to try out 'stunning', 'beautiful', and 'duck-butt-hair' – which he insisted was a complement.

Upholding his _own _pride was far more important than working with Sakura to take off Kakashi's mask while he slept in his tent during missions.

It wasn't as if they had ever succeeded anyway. His stupid sensei wore too many masks, and he'd always wake up before they got to carefully pulling down the third one. Then he'd give them a 'trust' speech, and they would dutifully pretend to listen while mentally scheming for next time. A few more times and he had kicked Sasuke out of his tent and told the boy to bring his own.

He felt the sudden urge to laugh uncontrollably, and struggled to keep it down to a gurgle. The heir of the Uchiha clan: eating dango and suffering innuendo and trying to strip people. What would _that _man think of it? He'd probably regret not killing the silly six-year-old boy while had the chance.

Sasuke wasn't optimistic enough to have _ever considered_ that maybe he had done it out of love. If he could willingly slaughter his father, mother, relatives, lover, and closest friend, then what on earth would stop him from taking out one younger brother?

He walked out of the apartment compound, and decided to take a shortcut through the training grounds. It was better to walk through there than to use the main streets and risk being seen. As he passed through training ground four, he looked around, absorbing every detail he could see in the darkness.

He remembered the various times Hyuga Neji had challenged him to a spar. Originally, the boy had won nine times out of ten due to his age and experience, but now he and Sasuke were almost on equal ground. The Byakugan was useful against genjutsu, and the Sharingan was useful against the jyuuken style. They still glared whenever they had the chance, but there was an underlying quiet respect.

Then there was Tenten. Most girls – apart from Sakura, who had grown used to him, and Hinata, who had some crazy obsession with Naruto – started fluttering the moment he looked at them, but _this _one was different. Sometimes she came up to him with all her pointy weapons and challenged him to a weapons-only spar, not affected by his killing intent at all, and treated him like a little boy. It was infuriatingly, but he grew to like her too.

That last boy was the Youthful one. His title spoke for itself. After having withstood the Flames of Youth, psychotic murderers were a piece of cake.

Sasuke walked into training ground five, feet soft against the grass. When he had first seen the note, his first idea had been to quickly kill Naruto and gain the Mangekyou Sharingan before running off. He had quickly realized that it was impossible. Even if the Kyuubi hadn't been there, he could never bring himself to lay a hand on the friend who had been silently protecting him since their first day as a team.

Naruto didn't seem to know that he knew, but Sasuke noticed everything. Every D-rank mission in the very beginning where the blond boy had kept glancing his way, as if he was going to disappear any second. During the chunin exams, when Naruto had shook with worry for him when the pairings had been announced. After the chunin exams, where the boy had always wanted to know where he was, as if he was going to run away any moment.

Like a stalker, except a subtle one. Sasuke was slightly touched, and he didn't know what that said about his people skills.

He had thought about killing Sakura instead. She and Naruto were on the same level in his mind, although she had only risen up _after_ getting rid of her little crush. When Naruto had left for his training, they had trained together every day, breaking for lunch just as Kakashi showed up for 'training' four hours late.

Spending that much time with someone – especially someone who liked to talk – taught a person a lot about them.

So he knew what would happen if he tried to covertly murder his teammate. He would get up to the very end, and then his senses would stop him. She would see him stop, but their friendship would be gone. You couldn't go back to being friends with someone who just barely stopped themselves from murdering you.

When he came back to Konoha, he had briefly considered killing Anko. It would probably cause enough pain to awaken the Mangekyou because she had become like a sister to him. A sadistic older sister who kept her hands off for the only reason that he was underage and she'd be arrested, but a sister nonetheless. After having been through betrayal and isolation, she was someone who could actually understand how he felt and more. After meeting her, he had understood for the first time that there were people whose pasts far overshadowed his in terms of pain.

He hadn't even considered killing Kakashi. His sensei, who had taught him most of what he knew, would have him down in minutes.

And that was when he decided that the Mangekyou Sharingan was not for him. He would take his revenge in his _own _way, not in _that man's _way.

He continued to walk until training ground seven, again looking around and absorbing as much as he could. He gave himself a fifty-percent chance of returning, and that left a lot of room for things to go wrong.

"You're not just taking a nightly stroll, are you?"

Sasuke paused at the familiar voice behind him, cursing silently.

"You have your pack and weapons and everything. And that note you had when you returned from your watch…you're planning to leave to kill him, aren't you?"

He turned around wearily, and clenched his teeth as Haruno Sakura approached him. She had a travel pack hanging on one elbow with a medical set attached, and one pink glove was fitted on her hand. The other one was slowly drawn out of her pocket.

"Well suck it up, Sasuke-kun," she said sweetly, "I could try to fight you, but in this darkness your Sharingan would win by a mile. So instead I'll tell you this."

The innocent smile suddenly left her face and her features morphed into a mix of anger and determination as she snapped on the gloves that the slug sannin had given her. She spoke in a new voice that commanded obedience.

"You're not going alone."

**ooooo**

**Itachi being a low-chakra type is not explicitly mentioned in canon, but it's part of my AU. Yamato's past is also AU, in canon he attended the shinobi academy.**

**My everyday streak isn't going to be there anymore, but I'll try to update as fast as I can. Leave a review and I'll be super-encouraged ^^!**


	29. Uchiha Itachi

**Chapter 29 – Uchiha Itachi**

"How did you know?" Uchiha Sasuke asked, hands near the weapons pouch and ready to draw a kunai. Around him, darkness was settling. The nighttime was now on them, and the faint light of the moon barely allowed a normal person to see a few meters in front. Against someone with the Sharingan, Sakura had no chance if she couldn't see clearly.

"I didn't," she replied, "I saw you leaving your apartment compound while I was looking out my bedroom window."

"And why didn't you get sensei to stop me?" he raised an eyebrow, "when you know that you cannot do it yourself?"

"Sensei and Naruto live in the opposite direction," she replied, "you would have left Konoha by that time, and then it would be hard to track you down in the night."

"I could knock you unconscious and leave you here."

"You won't."

"And why is that?"

"Because you know you have a better chance of returning if I'm there," the whites of her eyes stood out in the dark, "you're going to be ok with me coming with you."

Sasuke stared, waiting for her to go on.

"I'm a certified iryou-nin," she replied confidently, "and you Uchiha are known for your shuriken-jutsu. That means flesh wounds, which I can heal in seconds," she walked closer as she continued, "and although I cannot use it to fight against the Sharingan, I'm well versed in genjutsu. I can easily release you if you are caught."

"You'll be killed," Sasuke told her, "he can use that shurikenjutsu you mentioned to hit targets even in his blind spots."

"Tsunade-sama taught me more than iryou-ninjutsu," she said, "she also taught me that an iryounin needs to know how to _dodge._" Her voice didn't waver for a second, "Sasuke, you're almost an A-rank jonin, and my iryou-ninjutsu and taijutsu are at jonin level. Even though Itachi is an S-rank missing-nin, we can handle him if we go together."

Sasuke clenched his teeth, "you don't understand. It's…"

"What's more important, your pride or your revenge?" She sighed and crossed her arms over her chest, "when I first heard about this goal of yours, I wanted to convince you to give up. But I realize now that it was selfish of me. You'll never be truly happy until that person is gone. So I'll help you."

"But…" In all honestly, Sasuke didn't know what he was supposed to say. Logically, this was a gift from fate. Sakura had fought his Sharingan for years. She knew how to read her opponents moves by looking at their feet, which made it hard for her to be captured with the Sharingan, and she could easily dispel any common genjutsu that didn't involve the doujutsu. She was the best support he could have asked for.

"Any other complaints?" She asked, "or can we go kill this brother of yours?"

"He…has the Mangekyou," Sasuke tried, "he can use the black flames that sensei told us about."

"Dodging. I'm an expert in it."

"He can use that chakra monster, Susano'o," he continued, "and some other Ultimate Genjutsu."

"Something like a giant monster of chakra will be draining," she replied lightly, "you can tire him out. And as for a Sharingan genjutsu, if needed I can fight without ever looking up past his chest."

There was silence as Sasuke contemplated it. Eventually, rationality won over his emotions.

"Fine."

ooooo

"…and you eat this for _breakfast_?"

Naruto giggled. Sitting across from him was Yamato, lifting the instant ramen from its paper cup.

"Naru-kun isn't the healthiest boy around. I think we might have Kyuubi to thank for keeping him alive," Kakashi said sagely, sipping water through his mask.

"Senpai, you look slightly…different," Yamato observed, swallowing the mouthful of noodles.

"I know," the masked jonin smiled, "today I wore my third mask on the outside instead of, well, third. It's a slightly lighter shade of blue. I wanted a new look."

"It looks nice," the younger man replied dryly.

"Hurry up Yamato-senpai," Naruto complained, "I want to try the release today!"

"T-today?" He gulped, "I'm still recovering from yesterday's mental trauma."

"It's all true, you know," Kakashi informed him, "we wouldn't lie about something like this, and Naruto's already told you everything he knows about you."

"I know…it's just slightly unbelievable," Yamato admitted, "Uchiha _Madara _is alive? I feel like I should have some sort of personal vendetta against him…"

"He's the only one who could have activated that seal, according to Kurama," Naruto explained, "we're going to have to fight him one day."

"Fight _Uchiha Madara_? Maybe I can provide backup support," he mumbled.

"We'll send you to the front lines," Kakashi declared playfully, "you can take over Shodai-sama's legacy."

"No way, senpai! At least one of us has to be alive to bring your bodies back for your funerals!"

They were both disrupted by a knock on the door.

Kakashi looked up quizzically. Gai was out on a mission with his team…who else would be knocking? He stood up from the couch and went over to the door, opening it and peering outside.

A middle-aged man peered back at him, white haired and dressed in a simple white shirt and brown pants. He seemed like a well-to-do civilian.

"Are you Hatake Kakashi?" The man asked, "I was given your address the day my daughter became your student."

"Yes, that's me," the jonin replied, trying to remember if he had seen this person before.

"Ah, good. I came to ask if Sakura was doing any missions right now," the man smiled and rubbed the back of his head, "she suddenly disappeared during the night. I've heard that shinobi are called out like this, but she just came back from her last mission."

"She's not on a mission," Kakashi frowned, "you're right, she just returned from one. I'll find her."

The white haired man looked slightly worried, "alright, thanks for your help."

When Kakashi returned to the sitting room, there was a crinkle in his forehead, "Sakura's missing. She was supposed to stay with Sasuke yesterday, right?"

"Yeah," Naruto bit his lip, "maybe she's at his place."

"Kuchiose!" Kakashi put his hand to the ground, and waited as the smoke cleared to reveal Pakkun.

"Yo," the dog greeted, the usual bland look on his face. He looked around, "oh look, the Kitten's here." Yamato gritted his teeth; the dog was every bit as obnoxious as his summoner.

"Pakkun, I need you to find Sasuke and Sakura," Kakashi instructed seriously, "check Sasuke's apartment first, and if he's not there, track him down."

"Sure," the small pug nodded, "tomato-boy and too-much-perfume-girl, I have their scents memorized."

"Oi!" Naruto protested, "she only wears all that perfume to cover up sweat from training! I think it's noble!"

ooooo

In the centre room of the Uchiha Hideout, Uchiha Itachi was sitting down in the stone seat, looking up towards the ceiling. His crows had brought word that Sasuke had left Konoha the previous night.

He thought back to his most recent visit to Ame, and the short three minutes that he had spent with Uchiha Obito. He had successfully peaked his interest in Kakashi. For the Koto Amatsukami to work, Kakashi had to activate his Mangekyou Sharingan and look into Obito's eyes. He only hoped that the man would not pause if he found out that their 'Madara' was what seemed like his closest friend.

He reached into his pocket and took out another soldier pill, slipping it into his mouth and swallowing it whole. His condition was deteriorating fast, and his illness was slowly taking over. This fight would be his last. He was perfectly content to spend his final day alive lost in memories.

_ooooo_

"Train with me."

A stubborn boy stood in his way, arms crossed over his chest.

Itachi smiled, "maybe another day."

"You said that yesterday too!" Sasuke was persistent, determined not to let his brother leave.

"What do you want me to do?"

"You can teach me how to hit my blind spots-"

"You can't even hit your visible region properly yet…"

"-and how to make kunai spin-"

"That's an entertainment trick…"

"-and how to make giant balls of fire-"

"You can barely make a bunshin."

"-and how to do the shunshin like Shisui nii-san!" The little ball of excitement had both his hands in fists, and his eyes were sparkling.

"Sasuke," Itachi began, about to tell his brother to go play with his academy friends. He paused when his mother appeared in the hallway, smiling at the sight of her children.

"Itachi, I think it would be a wonderful idea to help Sasu-kun," Uchiha Mikoto told him.

"Hahaue-"

"They make you work too hard in the anbu, this will be a break for you," the kind smile was still on her face, but she knew how her son worked. She had once been a jonin on the same rank as her husband. The Uchiha heir was always engaged to the strongest match in the clan, after all.

"…let's begin with the basics, alright?" Itachi sighed. He considered loaning the boy over the Shisui…but that look was too hard to refuse. He reached forward with a smile and used two fingers to push against his little brother's forehead.

_ooooo_

"Itachi."

Itachi looked up from where he was kneeling on the floor in his room, sharpening his kunai. The ominous figure of Uchiha Fugaku stood in the doorway. Being in anonymous anbu teams had its merit sometimes. It was how Itachi knew that the non-Uchiha sometimes referred to his father as Fugu-fish-sama.

"Chichiue," the thirteen-year-old boy stood up to welcome in the man he had been instructed to kill later that night. He looked up and noticed his father's rather stern look.

Could he have found out about it? Did something slip? His father had been carefully staying away from him for a few days after hearing the accusations of Shisui's death, but yesterday he had eventually sighed and begun to talk to him again. Nothing was provable, after all. He wasn't going to alienate his prodigal son due to a notion that was probably false.

Itachi kept his expression carefully neutral as he regarded his father's one raised eyebrow. If the man had learned about the massacre order, would he be standing in front of him? Proud though he was, Uchiha Fugaku was not a fool. He knew perfectly well that his eldest son could kill him within seconds.

The Uchiha clan leader walked into his son's room and gestured for him to sit back down behind the low table with the kunai and blade sharpener. He himself slowly kneeled on the other side of the table.

"Have I done something wrong?" Itachi asked carefully. It was not a phrase he used often, but it would not seem out of character either.

"No," his father said briefly, "I've heard that you were spending time with the new anbu operative Fukurou."

Ah, so it was a simple matter as that. Itachi felt almost like breathing a sigh of relief, but his expression remained calm because he could see that it was a precursor to something else. But he was not too worried about this particular conversation; if his father disapproved, he could easily agree. Both he and Owl would be dead that night, after all. It caused pangs within him to even think about it.

"Yes, Chichiue," he replied simply.

"It is not something I expected from you, and she is four years your senior."

"She is the strongest Uchiha kunoichi, and the only other in anbu. I know that you would have chosen her eventually," he said evenly. After expecting the worst, something like this was easy to deal with. The expectant look in his father's eyes, however, still made him keep his guard.

"You are thirteen. I would have waited longer," came the straightforward reply. The Uchiha did not prefer pleasantries.

"She approached me because she knew about those plans," Itachi replied, "and she did not want it to be something purely out of convenience." He was in anbu, after all. Within that kind of life, there were no adults and no children. There were only captains and subordinates and teammates.

"Fine, then." Uchiha Fugaku gave his son a searching look. Ah, now the real question was coming. Itachi once again prepared himself for the worst.

"Did you kill Uchiha Shisui?"

There were no other lingering looks; this was his real question. This was the one that his father had been waiting to ask for three days.

"I did not," Itachi replied confidently. After all, it was partly the truth. Partly.

With that, the stern lines on his father's face slowly melted away. He was not one to smile often, but his expression became calm. He thought he knew when his son lied, and he could not see any evidence of it.

"You may return to your duties, Itachi," the head of the Uchiha clan, who's _head _would be lifeless in a few hours, stood up and slowly left the room.

_ooooo_

Shunshin no Shisui. The boy five years older who had been his greatest friend and the only one to ever truly know him. He looked back with blood running out of one eye socket, and a strange, patterned iris in the other.

"Take it…Itachi,"

The boy said it calmly, not bothering to wipe away the blood as it ran down his face and into his mouth. The pattern in his eye stood in stark contrast to his pale skin.

"It is meant to…protect Konoha."

_ooooo_

"Orochimaru."

Uchiha Itachi peered into the room that the snake sannin was not allowed to leave, one hand behind his back. Inside was only a circular table, piled with scrolls and seal paper. The man himself was bent over one of the scrolls, wearily finishing the spiral stroke of a fuuin symbol. He did not look up at the person who had entered his room. Instead, he calmly withdrew his hand with the brush, putting it away to look over his work.

He then slowly tore up the seal he had drawn and let the pieces of paper shower to the floor.

That was when he looked up, unfair anger in his eyes. He _hated _that _Itachi _of all people was the one sent to see him. Pein-sama did it as a constant reminder of his failure, a reminder that if he had lost his chance to become truly powerful long ago. He never saw anyone else apart from Uchiha Itachi and the other 'prisoners'.

"What is it?" He spat, darkening hair falling over one purple-rimmed eye. His new body was slowly changing its look, morphing into his previous form. But no matter how much his new body changed, Pein and Obito had assured that he would never be able to match them.

"I will be leaving," Itachi said simply, "that means that there will not be anyone coming by for the next few days."

"What does it matter? As long as I remain alive, _Pein-sama _remains happy. I don't need to see you every day to be alive, do I?"

With that, Itachi drew out the hand that he had kept behind his back. His fingers were clutched around the handle of a long katana. He held the blade out to the snake sannin, a blank look in his eyes.

Orochimaru looked at his katana suspiciously, "why?" It had been taken from him the moment he had entered Ame, along with everything _else. _

"Because one day I hope you will make the right decision," Itachi said simply. Seeing that the man was not willing to approach him, he dropped the Blade of Kusanagi to the ground and turned to leave.

ooooo

"Naruto, Tenzou," Kakashi burst back into the apartment fifteen minutes after he left, "Sasuke and Sakura have been traced all the way to the gates. They must have left the village yesterday. I looked around Sasuke's apartment, and he took his Fuma Shuriken and weapons pouch."

Yamato, sensing that it was a serious matter, forgot to admonish his senpai for using the wrong name.

In his seat, Naruto's eyes widened. He stood up suddenly, "the teme's going after Itachi!" He cried, "we have to go after him!"

"No, wait," Kakashi ran a hand through his hair, "we can't assume things-"

"I know it!" Naruto yelled, "this is what happened last time, except must earlier. Sakura volunteered to go with him, except last him he left her behind and this time she went with him!"

Seeing that the blond boy was agitation and his senpai was having trouble remaining calm, Yamato stood up, "we have to go see the Hokage," he instructed, "panicking won't do anything, and you've already told me that this Itachi loves his brother."

"But…Sakura! He'll kill her!" Naruto protested, wide-eyed, "I know that he loves Sasuke, but I don't know anything else! What if one of the _changes _made it different? He caught Kakashi-sensei to interrogate him under a genjutsu, after all! This Sasuke's not as strong as he was in the future after absorbing Orochi-teme, and he even lost the first time! Even with Sakura-chan's help, they can't face Itachi!"

"Tenzou-kun is right, Naruto," Kakashi instructed, "we have to stay calm and see Sandaime-sama. If I inform him of what happened, he'll put together a rescue team."

"It'll be too late!" Naruto rushed to pull on the orange jacket that was on the couch beside him, "I have to go save him-"

"No."

"What do you mean 'no'?" Naruto looked up with one arm in the sleeve, confused.

"I can't risk it, Naruto," Kakashi said carefully, "I'll go myself and I'll take Shizune-san with me, but you can't come. They could have another member waiting to capture you, and we've already lost one bijuu."

"Like hell they'll beat me!" Naruto growled, "and Gaara's better off without stupid Shukaku. Kurama will help me defeat anyone!"

"-and that is why I cannot take you with me," the masked jonin said. All his usual humor had fled from his eye, and his expression was stern and serious, "I know that Sasuke is very important to you, but emotions will only get in the way right now. I know exactly how powerful you are, Naruto, but there is a chance that you will be taken down by your current impulsiveness."

Naruto burned with the unfairness, but one look at his sensei's masked face told him that he was right. He slowly crushed all the urges to jump out and run out of Konoha to pursue that idiotic Uchiha, and sat back down with his head in his hands.

"Bring him back, ok?" He said softly, hands tangling into his hair as he stared at the ground.

"I will," Kakashi promised. With that, he and Tenzou shunshined out of the apartment, leaving the extremely worried blond boy behind.

ooooo

"This is urgent," Kakashi insisted, standing in front of the Hokage's office, "I must see him right away."

The anbu Boar in front of him sighed under his mask, "fine. I will see if Koharu-sama would be alright with having her meeting with the Hokage disturbed." With that, he disappeared.

"It'll be fine, senpai," Yamato said from where he was standing beside him in front of the door, "Danzo-sama will be curious to know, he'll let you in."

He was right. The Boar appeared again and opened the door to the Hokage's office, allowing them to step though. Inside, sitting on one of the chairs in front of the Hokage's desk, was Utatane Koharu.

"Kakashi-san, Yamato-san, what is so urgent that you needed to interrupt our meeting?" the Sandaime asked, one eyebrow raised.

"No matter, Hiruzen," Koharu said briefly, "I, too, would like to know. We can resume our meeting later on."

"My students, Sasuke and Sakura, have left the village to kill Uchiha Itachi," Kakashi said straightforwardly, "I would like permission to request subordinates for a mission to prevent them from finding him or – if it comes to it – rescue them from Itachi."

At this, both Koharu and Sarutobi Hiruzen looked surprised. Finally, the Sandaime cleared his throat, "how do you know that your student has gone after _Itachi_ in particular?"

"Sandaime-sama, I have known him for almost six years," Kakashi replied, "his one goal has always been to kill his brother, and both my other students are extremely loyal to him and wish to help him, which is why Sakura went with him. We must go as quickly as possible, I do not know how much ground they covered during the night."

"I see," the Sandaime sighed, and then looked up with narrowed eyes and a more serious expression, "I will assign you to lead the mission 'Retrieve Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura'. Since you have suggested this, do you have any preferences in people to work with or should I assign whoever I have available?"

"I will take Yamato, who is in probation under me, and Shizune for medical backup. She is at the hospital right now, but I have sent my ninken to bring her here," Kakashi nodded.

"Hmm, I will have one of my anbu write up a mission report for either a B-rank or S-rank, depending on how this turns out," he rested his chin against his steepled fingers, "I believe our iryounin council member has arrived."

They turned around to see Shizune panting, Tonton in one hand and Pakkun at her feet.

"Sandaime-sama, Kakashi-san, what is so urgent?" She asked sharply, recovering from the run.

"Sasuke and Sakura have gone off to fight Uchiha Itachi," Yamato told her, "you're on our team to rescue them."

Shizune's eyes widened, but she nodded. After becoming Konoha's young iryounin prodigy and having Gai referring to her youth every second line, her confidence was no longer low. "I'll do it. When Pakkun told me it was urgent, I brought my iryounin equipment."

"Good," Kakashi said firmly, "we leave immediately and we won't be taking any breaks. Pakkun, I'm trusting you to work with Tonton to trace their scents beyond the gates."

"You got it, Kakashi," the small pug nodded.

"Buhi," the pig stated confidently.

ooooo

Slightly after noon that day, Sasuke and Sakura were peering through the leaves of Hi no Kuni's forests. Beyond it was a large hill, spiraling upwards until it culminated in a circular building that was almost an extension of the small mountain. It was the exact shape as the neat line drawing on the small note.

They had travelling for most of the night, and only taken a break to sleep and regain their energy at five in the morning. After seven hours of rest, they had gone another hour at full speed and had arrived at the Uchiha Hideout.

"Have you ever been here before?" Sakura asked softly, "it would be nice if we had some sort of floor plan." Ever the strategist.

"I haven't been here," he replied stoically, "but I know that there's only one room on the inside, a large room with a single throne where Uchiha Madara used to sit and convene council. Madara was the leader of my clan back when Konoha was being founded, and he was known to be the most powerful Uchiha in history. Three-hundred ryo for _that man _sitting there right now."

"I know well enough not to take that bet," Sakura told him sagely.

"You're smart, Sakura," he said softly.

"Stop being so weird," she muttered, "it doesn't suit you. Go back to being sadistic."

"Oh so you're only with me for my evil charm?"

"I got over you years ago, Uchiha," she said sweetly, "and I pity whatever girl gets stuck in _that _kind of relationship with you."

"Ch. I doubt I'll have the chance for things like that," he looked away.

"You idiot," she said sternly, "we're going to go back to Konoha when we're done here, and you'd better remember that."

"Well," he began lightly, "we _are_ shinobi. So, in the future, I could get killed on mission. So…just to be prepared beforehand…thank you, Sakura," the lightness disappeared as his voice became more serious, "I'm proud that I know you."

"Sasuke-"

"You've watched my blind spots countless times. And although I hate to admit it, you've saved my life once more than I've saved yours. And yes, it was a fluke. But I still intend to pay you back."

"…Sasuke-"

"My only wish is that I could have said goodbye – I mean, prepared beforehand to eliminate unnecessary guilt – to that dobe too. And our amazing pervert of a sensei. And, well, my _other _amazing butno-less-perverted sensei. Hmm, and there's Ero-Sennin too, why are all our mentors perverted?-"

"Uchiha Sasuke!" Sakura crossed her arms over her chest, "what is the matter with you? Stop being so sappy, you have the chance to do all those things when we get back to Konoha," she sighed, and then continued.

"One thing that a tactician always has to remember is that there's always a chance that everything can go wrong. Something equally important is that if you go in with that first in mind, you cripple yourself. So you have the balance the two notions, and since you're lost in one extreme, I will bring you back to the middle with the other extreme," she reached forward to jab him in the chest.

"We are a part of team seven, and our team members are waiting for us. In fact, they've probably sent a rescue team out for us. Now considering that we travelled at full speed all night they may not find us in time to stop us, but it's the thought that counts," she paused, "the two of us are some of the best shinobi of our generation. _You, _you idiot, are a prodigy, and I don't care if that man stabs you through the heart because I'll drag your stupid soul back into it with what my shishou has taught me."

Sasuke was a little taken aback at the change in his teammate.

"If the two of us end up dying here, then think of how Naruto and Kashi-sensei will feel," she went on, "Naruto-baka still hasn't gotten over his crush on me, and he may as well have a crush on you too with the way he tries to protect you all the time. It's our job as his teammates to get back and keep him in line and give him a good kick in the pants from time to time and stand by him when he becomes Hokage one day," she paused only to breathe.

"Then there's that stupid Sai. Seeing as you have the emotional range of the average mouse, you wouldn't know, but he's changed so much by being with us. Whoever tried to lock up his emotions is an utter fool because he has so many and he's just starting to learn how to convey them. So we have to get back and replace that lousy social-skills book of his and teach him the _actual _meaning of 'ugly'."

"And sensei…you have no idea how _hurt _he actually is. During all those training sessions I would ask him questions, you know. About his past. He'd tell me as little as he could but I can put things together. Right now, he thinks of _us _as his Rin and Obito, and Naruto is apparently another trusting blond dolt just like his old sensei. Losing us too…he only has so much time in a day to spend in front of a memorial stone and he's late enough already."

Sasuke started, "so Naruto gets to be the Yondaime Hokage and you're the genius medic and I'm some unknown kid that sensei used to make fun off?"

She reached over and promptly gave him a light punch to the chest. Even that action sent him stumbling back a little.

He sighed, "yes, yes, I understand," the determination came back into his eyes and he leapt out of the tree that they were both crouched in, landing swiftly at the base of the hill.

"Sakura," he looked over his shoulder, "find a place to hide for now. I'll go in alone."

The pink haired girl simply smiled and nodded in approval as Sasuke snapped back into his usual manner.

ooooo

"It's been eight years."

When Sasuke entered the room, the first thought that came to mind was that if Sakura had not been so clever, he could have been three-hundred ryo richer.

He breathed in slowly, containing his anger at the sight of _that man _and the sound of his smooth voice. The sight of _that man _sitting in the stone chair where Uchiha Madara had once sat, one arm out of his Akatsuki cloak and leaning against the side of the seat as if he owned it.

Sasuke took a good look before answering. His brother looked different. Of course, he was now over twenty while he had last seen him at thirteen, but the differences were striking. The black and red cloth covered his taller build, and longer fingers slid out of the sleeve. The cloak hung like a blanket around him, but he saw the hint of lean muscles underneath. His hair was longer, but still pulled back and tied at the back of his neck, and his face was more defined, with less of the slight roundness that had once indicated his young age.

He had never failed to make Sasuke feel like a child. And he did it with only a single look.

Sasuke's eyes automatically evolved into the Sharingan, a defensive reaction as he noticed that Itachi's eyes were permanently red.

"You still do not possess the same eyes as me," Itachi observed, watching his younger brother walk closer until he was standing mere meters in front.

"I don't need the Mangekyou," Sasuke's voice came out unwavering, "I will defeat you without it."

"And who is the person watching from the side windows?" the older Uchiha asked calmly.

Sasuke inwardly winced at how quickly he had been able to pinpoint Sakura's location. His teammate was not an expert in stealth, but he knew that he himself would have been found just as quickly .

"You don't need to know that," Sasuke growled. One hand was firmly placed on a kunai at his waist.

Itachi hadn't moved an inch from his seat. "Do you know why I've called you here?"

"You want to fight me," Sasuke's eyes narrowed.

"Foolish boy," Itachi's first movement was to evenly draw a shuriken from the inside of his cloak, holding it lightly between two fingers, "why on earth would I feel such an urge to fight you right now? You may have a vendetta against me, but I have no burning reason to kill you. If I wanted a challenge, I would have waited until you were older."

That made Sasuke pause. It was true; why on earth was Itachi calling him now? He had been so caught up in the thoughts of revenge that he had failed to question his brother's motive. Nevertheless, his hand remained tightly clutched around his kunai.

It was wise, because he was able to deflect the shuriken that came spinning at him with unbelievable speed. He looked up to see Itachi's arm stretched out in front, fingers spread from where he had thrown the weapon. The fingers slowly came into a fist, all but one. His index finger pointed directly at Sasuke's face.

The younger Uchiha spun around, Sharingan eyes flashing just as a kunai was thrust into the space where he had been standing. Directly behind him was Uchiha Itachi, but he had not moved an inch from the chair meters in front. He was so close that Sasuke could almost make out the threads of his red and black irises.

"Why, Sasuke? Tell me what you think, Otouto_._"

Sasuke leapt out of the way as another three kunai came flying at him. The entire time, the Itachi behind him remained looking forwards, and the Itachi sitting on the stone chair leaned his chin into one hand.

After just barely dodging the kunai, Sasuke felt a sudden pain in his back. He spared milliseconds to turn and see the five shuriken embedded along his spine. It was the genius of Uchiha Itachi; his skill to target even his blind spots with stunning accuracy. Blood ran down his back.

Behind the chair that the first Itachi was sitting in, Sasuke swiftly put a kunai to his brother's neck, tilting it into the flesh until a small line of blood ran down. He watched the other Sasuke collapse from the shuriken.

"Tell me why you called me here," Sasuke hissed. The illusory one faded away along with the illusion of his brother, until they were both left near the stone chair. Itachi had still not moved, and Sasuke's heart was almost audible as he held the blade firmly.

"Do you want to listen, or do you want to drive that blade in further?" His vocal chords seemed completely unperturbed by the blade that was so close.

"Tell me," Sasuke stated firmly. He removed the knife from his brother's throat and turned around, brandishing it in front of him at the Uchiha Itachi in the stone chair, meters away. Behind him, the illusion slowly began to fade.

"Good choice," came the soft whisper from the stone seat. Along with it came a sudden barrage of shuriken.

Sasuke's first reaction was to dodge, to move. Instead, he remained calm and unconsciously stressed his optical nerves, looking through with his Sharingan on full use. Three black tomoe swirled.

From his position beside the stone chair, Sasuke watched impassively as hewas hit by the myriad of shuriken. He turned to his right to see his brother, who still had not lifted a finger. His heart beat wildly and nervously with the challenge of facing another Sharingan user, one with both eyes, but his face remained clear of expression. Itachi had even been able to manipulate their father, the Uchiha heir; any hint of what he felt would be used against him.

"If there is something you want to say, say it _now_ or it may be too late," he said firmly, arms crossed over his chest. One hand still gripped the handle of a kunai, and his fuma shuriken lay untouched at his hip.

"Why in such a hurry?" Itachi said softly, "is there something you need to do?"

"Yes," Sasuke replied confidently, "there is. I must defeat you and then return to my village."

Outwardly, Itachi's face remained mostly devoid of emotion. The second rule of the anbu handbook had been to never show emotion during a mission, and he had been a young and flexible recruit who was able to adhere to them loyally. But his lips still held the slightest of a smile.

"I'll tell you a story, Otouto," Itachi began, looking at the younger Uchiha who was standing a few meters in front of him, "a story that begins many years ago, in the days of Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara."

Sasuke listened carefully, but maintained his guard at the same time. Itachi had already shown that he was not below attacking in the middle of speech. Despite his burning need for revenge completely resurfacing after seeing his brother's face again, he was curious to know his motives. _Why _had Uchiha Itachi brought him here? Why _now_? "Speak," he said, his voice commanding.

"Uchiha Madara had a younger brother," Itachi began, "his name was Izuna. They were both geniuses, prodigies. They began with power, and slowly attained more and more. Together, they gained such power that the entire clan bowed before them."

"The Mangekyou Sharingan." Sasuke stated.

"Yes, the Mangekyou. They killed off the friends who had been closest to them, and in doing so activated the ultimate doujutsu of the Uchiha," he went on.

Around him, the world began to morph and change. Sasuke's eyes flared and he saw the chakra that manipulated the space around him, and looked through it to see both the illusion and the reality of the large interior room of the Uchiha hideout. When he saw night sky instead of flashing metal, he settled down and allowed his eyes to look into the genjutsu.

He stood in front of a tradition sliding door, and outside was a cold night. Reaching forwards, he slid the door open and peered inside.

"The Mangekyou is a gift, but it is also a curse. It is the weapon that dulls its user's hand," Itachi's voice wafted through, and Sasuke shifted his sight to look at his brother, still sitting in the chair, and unmoving apart from his mouth.

He slid easily back into the genjutsu to where the door was open, and the room lay in front of him. Inside was a simply white futon, and underneath the blanket was a man with his eyes closed. Long black hair spread out around his head and the clear facial structure common among the Uchiha was evident.

_A weapon that dulls its user's hand. _Sasuke stepped into the room and kneeled by the man's side, looking down at the pale, thirty-year-old face. It could only mean that there was something about the Mangekyou that harmed its user, something that turned it into a 'curse'.

When the man opened his eyes, a red and black pattern stared up at Sasuke, who narrowed his eyebrows. This man – Uchiha Madara – had the Mangekyou Sharingan. He had expected it, seeing as he had been the most powerful of the Uchiha, but it was still strange to see the strange new pattern, even different from Itachi's.

Suddenly, the room began to blur around him, until the clarity of the illusion disappeared. Sasuke snapped his eyes up, back to the large circular room where Itachi sat in his seat, and glared questioningly.

"That, Otouto, was the curse of the Mangekyou," he said simply.

Sasuke shifted back into the room, sliding door behind him. The clarity had returned, but that moment had been all he needed to understand.

"Yes," the disembodied voice wafted into the tradition room with the futon, where the younger Uchiha knelt beside his most powerful ancestor, "with enough use, the Mangekyou eyes will eventually go blind. The user will lose not only their Sharingan, but their normal eyesight as well. But…there is a way to overcome this."

A slow fear began to grow inside him. Sasuke turned around sharply as the sliding door was opened once again. The man who came in was not someone he had ever seen before, but he recognized him at once.

Uchiha Izuna.

The man was considerably younger than the pale Madara on the futon. His black hair was short compared to Madara's, and since it was unlikely that Itachi had ever met either of these people, Sasuke wondered if he was trying to make a point.

Izuna walked over to kneel by his brother's side, with Sasuke on the other side staring up at him. He watched with dread as the two brothers began to speak, no words emerging due to the silence of the illusion.

"There is a way to make the Mangekyou last forever."

Sasuke watched as Madara's arm slowly slid out of the blanket, a shaking hand reaching upwards. There were no audible words, but it wasn't necessary. The movement of his lips was clear enough. _I'm sorry. _

He tried to pull back the illusory Madara's hand, but passed right through him. Instead, Sasuke could only follow the hand as its fingers parted Uchiha Izuna's eyelids.

The insides of the Uchiha Hideout became clear once more.

"When the eyes switch heads, the power of the two Mangekyou come together in the pair that remains alive," Itachi spoke from his seat, "but there is a condition."

Without warning, he stood from his seat, easily slipping his arm back into the sleeve of his cloak. Before Sasuke could blink, a kunai was held against his throat.

With the same speed, he attacked Itachi from behind, fingering three shuriken and throwing them just as he jumped back. His older brother burst into black crows even as he fingered three more.

Five kunai came whirling at him, as if they had just begun their existence in midair. Sasuke leapt to one side, smirking as all five missed and lodged into the ground. The smirk disappeared when he saw the flash of wire behind them, and the cutting pain in his right leg.

With a small yell, he watched as his lower leg was sliced off by the wire, blood spurting from the wound. He landed in a crouch, fingers stumbling as they gripped the leg that now ended at the knee.

"Too slow?" Itachi asked from where he was standing in front of him, in the middle of the room.

In the large inner room of the Uchiha Hideout, the blood slowly dripping to the floor was the only sound that could be heard. Farther down the room was the stone seat, and in it sat Uchiha Itachi. Beside him stood Sasuke, watching the scene and tightening his hand around his kunai.

"Are you going to tell me about this 'condition'?" He asked lightly, "or will I have to torture it from you?"

"Such over-achieving words," Itachi murmured, "I suppose you have really tried to follow in my footsteps, Otouto."

"Not in the least," Sasuke retorted. When the sound of the dripping blood had gone and the other Sasuke had slowly faded, the room was silent again.

"The two in the exchange must be related, and as closely as possible," Itachi continued, "preferably as _siblings_."

The cold truth finally settled on him. The reason why his aniki had kept him alive…the reason why he had sent that small paper note. He watched with dread as Itachi stood up and turned sideways to face him. The impassive face that he had recognized so quickly began to slowly morph.

"This is our fate!" Uchiha Itachi yelled, his voice loud and echoing in the large room, "this is the fate of the siblings who are born into the cursed Uchiha clan! They once looked at each other with loathing, with absolute hatred. The younger looks at his older with dread and the older imagines the day where he will one day kill the small person who calls him aniki!"

He walked closer, and Sasuke slowly backed away, fearing not the kunai in his brother's hands but the look in his eyes.

"The Cycle of Hatred is fated to be passed down to generation after Uchiha generation," he went on, the maniacal look still on his face, "the reason you are alive, the reason you are here now…We are each other's SPARES, Otouto!"

Sasuke ran back, the fear evident in his expression He could do nothing but watch as Itachi's long, pale fingers parted his eyelids.

ooooo

"_**We have a fellow observer."**_

Sakura stared, almost leaping a foot into the air with fear. She turned around quickly, slipping a kunai out of her pouch and holding it backwards in defense. She was crouched below one of the windows, and had been breathlessly watching the two Uchiha inside.

Behind her was the strangest human she had ever seen.

She wasn't entirely sure if he _was _human. The…_thing…_had simply melted out of the ground, as if he was a part of it. He looked up at her from where half his chest was out of the earth. On either side of his body rose large green appendages. They looked curiously like the leaves of a plant Ino had harnessed for facial treatment.

"Who are you?" She asked sharply, holding the kunai tight in her hand.

"_I won't hurt you,_" he replied in a completely different voice, _"I am simply here to watch."_

She inwardly sighed in relief. Helping Sasuke when he needed it wouldn't be possible if she was busy fighting some plant-man. However, the kunai remained high.

"Who are you?" She asked again.

"_I can't tell you that. Is it not enough to know that I am no threat?" _The higher voice responded. She wondered where the rasping voice she had heard earlier went.

"Fine," Sakura replied. She didn't have time to waste with him anyway. Maybe after dealing with Itachi, they would hunt him down if they were able to. The kunai remained up, but she turned back to watch the…fight.

"_**Neither of them has moved for over an hour."**_

There. She spun back around quickly to regard the plant-man again. Who had spoken that rough voice? Her eyes narrowed.

"_Genjutsu,"_ the higher voice responded. Sakura bit her lip in frustration.

"_**Or maybe they're just glaring at each other."**_

Her eyes widened as the raspy voice emerged again, and she realized that it had been the same weird plant-monster speaking. He had…two completely different voices. The fear rose inside her again.

"Why do you have two voices?" She asked sternly. It was nerve-wracking to turn away from Sasuke for even a second, but she trusted him to handle himself.

"_I only have one voice."_

"_**I only have one voice as well."**_

"I'm…not even going to ask," she grimaced. It seemed that the black half and white half of his face were…speaking differently. Maybe this was one of those multiple-personality mental issues. Instead, she settled for the obvious question.

"You have…leaves," she began, "why do you look so strange?"

"_**Asks the girl with pink hair."**_

**ooooo**

**Two more chapters until the end of the second arc. Wow, this story has gotten pretty big since I started it a month and a half ago...I'm really having fun with all this genjutsu. It makes it slightly confusing to read, I know, but that's the effect.**

**PS: check out The Joys of Time on my profile. The newest chapter is 'Yamato goes back in time to _try _to stand up to Kakashi's bullying' ^^**


	30. The Longest Moment

**Chapter 30 – The Longest Moment**

Sasuke watched in horror as the fingers began to spread his eyelids further.

_Break out!_

It wasn't the fingers that shocked him. It was the notion behind them.

_It's a genjutsu! Break out!_

He had to win this fight. Losing was not a possibility. But it was terribly hard to think of anything but fear as he gazed directly into those red and black eyes, and the world swirled with darker colors around him. The pain was sharp and he yelled with it as Itachi's fingers came away with one eyeball between them.

He clutched his bleeding eye socket and looked up at his brother, who was dropping the eye into a container of liquid. Sasuke's Sharingan eye stared back at him from within the fluid.

"One more," Itachi's soft voice murmured. He reached forwards again, and Sasuke found that he could not move his body as the fingers came towards his other eye.

Suddenly, the world snapped back into place.

Sasuke felt like collapsing in relief as he saw Uchiha Itachi still sitting in the seat, still having not moved at all since the very beginning. The true potential of the Sharingan genjutsu had finally hit him, and if it were not for the firm hand on his shoulder, he wasn't certain if he would have been able to break out of it in time.

"Sasuke, are you alright?" Sakura asked softly. Meters in front, Itachi regarded her with interest.

His hand came away from his eye socket, which still had a full eyeball within it. He sighed and nodded, not daring to take his eyes off his brother for a second.

"Who are you?" Uchiha Itachi asked, turning towards Sakura.

"His teammate and his friend," Sakura responded firmly, eyes narrowed as she took in the older Uchiha without ever looking up past his neck. She tucked short pink hair behind her ear and took her hand off Sasuke's shoulder.

"Well," Itachi stood up. It was startling because it looked the same as all the other times he had moved, but this time was real. This time was not the product of the legendary genjutsu that the Sharingan was capable of. "It seems like you've brought your demise with you, Otouto."

"What do you mean?" Sasuke narrowed his eyes.

"This is much easier now. I will kill this _friend _of yours in front of your eyes, and then take your Mangekyou from you," Itachi said softly, "how…convenient."

"Don't worry about me, Sasuke," Sakura whispered between gritted teeth, "just attack. I'll take over defense."

But how on earth could he not? Sakura was standing beside him, real and solid and _alive, _and Uchiha Itachi himself had just declared that he would kill her.

"Fine," Sasuke muttered, "leave him to me then," the strange feeling was still there, but this was his chance. His chance to finally avenge the death of his clan.

Itachi's speed was beyond human. The genjutsu was over, and now the consequences of everything they did would have to be dealt with in reality.

"Shuriken Kage Bunshin!"

"Doton: Doroku Gaeshi!"

Sakura's wall of earth came up barely in time to stop half the barrage of small shuriken as they began to multiply, and Sasuke moved in time to avoid the other half, twisting out of the way.

The wall of earth went down as the fight suddenly picked up speed. It had been necessary to combat the suddenness of Itachi's first attack, but now they were both used to the fight, easily dodging as more kunai flew their way. Sasuke reached into his pouch and pulled out three kunai.

"Kunai Kage Bunshin!"

He sent them flying at Itachi's chest just as the next wave came, and fingered more shuriken in one hand. Each of the shuriken that Itachi sent towards him was intercepted by one of his own, and beside him, Sakura dodged the ones that were out of the range of his attack. She fell into step again as they both watched the older Uchiha warily.

Without thinking twice, Sasuke threw the shuriken to free up his fingers. He didn't watch as Itachi's intercepted them in midair, and instead used the moment of distraction, to pull wire from his pouch, swiftly pushing it through the centre of his fuma shuriken just as he took it out. As he transferred his grip onto the larger metal weapon, he quickly brought his hand up to slip the sharp wire between his teeth.

Just as Itachi turned back, Sasuke threw the Fuma Shuriken, watching as the blades unfurled on the way. He closed his mouth in order to prevent the wire from shining and revealing itself, biting down on it as the fuma shuriken went flying, holding the wire back.

Itachi's face was expressionless as he regarded the large shuriken flying towards him, and he bent down, intending to allow it to fly over his head.

That was when he noticed the other one below it. His eyes widened, the fuma shuriken was part of the kage bunshin. He only had once choice to avoid being sliced in half.

They watched breathlessly as Itachi leapt into the air, pushing his feet hard against the ground. He drew his knees up as both the fuma shuriken flew harmless past him, and then allowed himself to drop back to the ground.

Sasuke spared time for a small grin, and reached up to pull the wire out from between his teeth. He transferred it back into his fingers, and pulled as hard as he could, causing both large shuriken to come flying back just as Itachi was about to land.

The older Uchiha would have been impaled completely if he hadn't heard the tiniest flicker in the air, and the whirring sound that indicated the presence of wire. He threw himself out of the way quickly, but winced as he heard the clash of metal against metal behind him. The fuma shuriken had split.

He prepared himself for the pain, and managed to anticipate exactly when one of the large blades embedded itself in the back of his lower leg. Itachi collapsed, but he was back up within seconds, wincing at the pain and reaching back to quickly dislodge the blade from his leg. He threw the blood-covered metal aside and turned his face his younger brother, face still completely impassive.

Sakura was sighing in relief that her teammate's trick had worked. From where she was standing, she had seen the flicker of the wire easily, it was hard to catch, but definite there, and the tendrils of sunlight coming through the windows had shone down its length. Maybe Itachi hadn't been able to see them from his angle of sight.

"You won't get anywhere near me, and I won't let you harm Sakura," Sasuke said firmly. Sakura looked to the side to see that he had not escaped unharmed either. A single small shuriken was lodged in his right arm, near the elbow. She quickly ran over to him and placed her hands near the wound, pulling the small metal weapon out of him while her green Shousen lit up on his arm.

Itachi watched Sakura's iryou-ninjutsu almost…curiously.

"So you brought an iryounin with you, Otouto," he observed.

"I was trained by Tsunade of the Sannin," Sakura declared, "and he didn't _bring _me. I came along with him myself. I'm not going to let him face someone like you alone," she spat out. She didn't know what had happened within that genjutsu, but Sasuke had come out looking much paler.

"If I kill you, will he be hurt?" Itachi asked again, "of course he will…this is a battle over our eyes, after all. It is a battle that is destined to take place among all the siblings of the Uchiha, since the days of Madara himself. Your life will be the perfect sacrifice for this Cycle of Hatred to continue."

"Sacrifice?" She turned to Sasuke questioningly, finished healing his small injury.

"The Mangekyou Sharingan degrades your eyes," he explained quickly, "_that man_ intends to take my eyes after I activate my Mangekyou to prevent blindness. But it won't happen," he stood up and stared directly into Itachi's eyes, "I now have a way to attain the Mangekyou without killing my friends, and I'll take it. When this battle is over, I'll take _his _eyes."

"How weak," Itachi commented, "you _knew _how to attain power, and you did not take it due to cowardice. You are weak, Otouto."

"Being unable to kill your friend is not a sign of weakness!" Sakura yelled, "it is a sign of loyalty and honor, things that someone who betrayed their entire clan would never know!"

A small smile graced Itachi's face, but Sasuke was unsure if it was one of amusement or spite.

Neither of them even saw his hand move, but dozens of shuriken were suddenly headed towards Sakura. Eyes widening, she leapt out of the way, and pivoted back, dodging all but one, which landed on the back of her hand. Wincing, she pulled it out and quickly began to heal the injury.

In front of them, Itachi collapsed. It was so sudden that Sasuke thought it was a bluff, and quickly sent a single shuriken at his brother.

The small weapon directly struck his shoulder while Itachi remained bent over on his hands and knees, breathing heavily and coughing. He barely noticed the shuriken that had managed to hit him as drops of blood spilled from his mouth in between coughs.

Sasuke was so startled that his Sharingan flared, and he began to check for genjutsu. That should not have happened. Itachi should have been able to dodge that easily. It had to be a genjutsu…but it wasn't. His brother really _was_ bent down on the floor, coughing up blood. His eyes widened in sudden recognition.

"It's the Mangekyou, isn't it?" His voice rang clear in the room, "it's doing something to you to make you sick, and you need my eyes to reverse whatever it's done. That's why you took the risk of being found in order to give me that note and demand that I come right away."

Itachi stood up slowly, wiping blood from the corner of his mouth, "foolish brother, do not get ahead of yourself. Even when I am like this, you are no match for me. I had hoped that this would draw out longer. After all, it has been many years since I have last seen you, and it would be a pity for you to die too quickly. But it seems that this is a matter of more urgency that I thought."

With that, both Sasuke and Sakura's eyes widened. The atmosphere in the room began to change, as if Uchiha Itachi had only been playing with them so far. Fear filled the room as their opponent looked at them with wide eyes, the sharp red-and-black pattern flaring.

"Amaterasu!"

Without thinking, Sasuke grabbed Sakura's arm and used the fastest shunshin he could manage.

"Argh, Sasuke!" Sakura winced as her body withstood the sudden movement. When she opened her eyes, there were outside the Uchiha Hideout, facing the entrance. Inside, she could see the hint of black fire.

"We have to fight something like that outside," he instructed, "if we stay in, we'll just be surrounded. Those flames never go out until they burn down their target."

"Got it," Sakura nodded. She followed Sasuke and he ran further up the hill and grabbed on to the side of the circular building, heading to the open roof.

ooooo

"Kakashi-san," Shizune yelled out.

On the branch in front of her, their mission leader barely heard her. He continued running through the branches at full speed.

"Kakashi-san!" She yelled again. Their formation was a simple on. Kakashi was in the front holding Tonton and allowing Pakkun to run by his side, Shizune was in the centre, and Yamato help up the back.

This time, he peered back. Seeing her desperate look, he stopped and turned. Shizune breathlessly leapt the last branch and put a hand on his shoulder to steady her while she caught her breath.

When she was finally finished hyperventilating, she looked up, "Kakashi-san, I know we have to go as fast as possible, but if we arrive there with two people unable to walk we won't be able to do much," she managed.

"Two people?" Kakashi turned to look back. Two trees behind was Yamato, limp body collapsed over a branch.

The poor former anbu operative slowly pulled himself up, gasping and wiping sweat off his forehead, "no…its…ok…I can…go on," he stuttered. Then, he promptly fell off the branch and crashed into the ground.

"I've been using my chakra to heal away my tiredness, but even that is dangerous for long periods of time," Shizune explained as they both leapt down to where the mokuton user was spread flat on the ground, "we've been running at full speed for four hours."

"You humans grow tired so quickly," Pakkun commented, walking over and pushing one paw against Yamato's head, "and Kitten here is really out of shape. Spent too much time chasing girls and not enough time on the field, eh?"

Yamato used the last of his energy to turn and glare at the small pug.

"Oh look, the Kitten's staring at me," the dog deadpanned, "I'm terrified."

"I suppose we should take a break," Kakashi sighed, "at this point, we're depending a little too much on what Naruto said about Itachi. Well, it can't be helped. We're almost there, right Pakkun, Tonton?"

The pig in his arms snorted an affirmative.

"Right, their scents are getting stronger," Pakkun confirmed, "they didn't do anything to mask them."

"Sasuke's usually a little more careful. He probably planned to have everything finished by the time we arrived," Kakashi sighed. He sat down near Yamato's head, "Tenzou-kun, sorry about that."

Poor Yamato seemed almost scandalized at the fact that the jonin was _apologizing _to him.

"We'll take a five minute break. Will that be enough, Shizune?" he turned to the dark-haired iryounin.

"Um, Kakashi-san," she began, "I know you feel very energetic right now, but it's all because of the adrenaline in your body. If you keep going at that speed, you'll collapse when it runs out and you won't know when it'll happen. I wouldn't advise going back after such a short break."

The masked jonin sighed, and noticed for the first time that his forehead was soaked, "alright, we'll break for twenty minutes and continue at three-quarters speed," he relented. He placed Tonton down and dropped his pack to rummage around inside it, pulling out a bottle of water.

Shizune and Yamato both watched in slight disgust as he gulped it down _over _his mask.

"Senpai…" Yamato began, "you know that your mask is covered in sweat, right?"

"Ah, that's why this water tastes so salty."

"That cannot be healthy," Shizune muttered, wrinkling her nose. She sat down beside her two teammates and sighed, "what exactly did Naruto-kun tell you about Itachi?"

"I would like to know more too, senpai," Yamato finally regained the energy to sit up and give his captain a curious look.

"He said that the massacre was ordered by the Hokage and his council, and Itachi was to kill everyone in his clan and take the blame. At the time, the Uchiha were planning a coup, so I wasn't not too surprised."

"Sandaime-sama did?" Shizune gasped.

"No, it wasn't him," Kakashi shook his head, "he was part of it, but he was also against it. He was over ruled by Shimura Danzo, an inner council member, along with Utatane Koharu and Mitokada Homura."

"So Danzo was behind it," Yamato muttered, "I don't doubt it. That man is bloodthirsty; he even has a few of his own special anbu members to take care of _special _missions. That's a rumor, but I've seen the hints of truth behind it."

"So Itachi was not completely responsible for his clan's murder…but how could he carry that out?" Shizune questioned, "how on earth could he take an order like that?"

"I don't know," Kakashi admitted, "but there are things that don't quite fit together than make me believe that there must be another reason."

"What…things?" Yamato asked.

"The reason Itachi nurtured his younger brother's hatred for him…it was so that one day Sasuke could defeat him and take his Mangekyou Sharingan," the masked jonin continued, "but why would Itachi want Sasuke to have the Mangekyou so badly? A power like that…it seems better to allow it to simply vanish, instead of bestowing it on his brother. With the Mangekyou, Sasuke would draw too much attention to himself, and it would be dangerous for him."

"What do you suspect, senpai?"

"I suspect that Sasuke will be in some sort of danger," he said, "some sort of situation where he needs the Mangekyou. Before, when Sasuke betrayed Konoha…I think Itachi was trying to ask something along those lines when he made me choose between my 'friend' and my village on that day. Maybe there's something else that caused Sasuke to defect, other than Orochimaru."

"We can ask him himself," Shizune said softly, "but that means that…_if _everything goes the same way, Itachi will be allowing Sasuke to kill him."

"Yes, but it's not Sasuke I'm worried for," Kakashi's tone was grim, "there are only a handful of people who's deaths would be enough to awaken Sasuke's Mangekyou, and Sakura is one of them. Itachi has already shown that he is willing to set his brother on a path of hatred, if he kills Sakura…then she'll be gone and Sasuke will be somewhere that even Naruto Therapy cannot pull him back from."

"I see," Shizune bit her lip. She had quickly grown to like the determined girl who had begun training every day with Tsunade-sama. The slug sannin had been impressed at how the girl had been able to easily pick up her taijutsu…she would be devastated if she died.

"The pink haired girl on your team?..." Yamato peered at his senpai.

"Yes, her," Kakashi sighed, "I could never forgive myself if she died. Even now I'm hoping that Itachi may have at least _some_ compassion for his brother's feelings."

"They cannot have travelled too far in the night," Shizune tried to soothe, "we'll try to save her."

"You know, I don't feel that tired anymore," Yamato declared, seeing the lost look in his senpai's eye, "I think we should keep going."

ooooo

As the black flames shot towards him, Sasuke leapt up, determined to catch his opponent off guard.

"Katon: Goukakyu no Jutsu!"

The orange fire shot forward above the black, heading directly for Itachi's head. His brother immediately tried to step back.

"Doton: Doryuuheki!"

A giant wall of earth came up from underneath him. The older Uchiha risked a second to look back and see Sakura a few meters behind him, palms pressed to the ground. He leapt forward to avoid the attack, and was left with no where to go to avoid the Goukakyu.

Instead, he opened his right eye once more, and watched as black fire consumed orange.

Leaping to the side, he landing nimbly and saw the brief shine in Sasuke's eyes. So they were trying to tire him out by forcing him to use Amaterasu, and his illness made it seem to them like it was working.

"Sakura!" Sasuke yelled, watching as the black fire headed towards her. The majority of Itachi's attacks were now aimed towards her, and it was lucky that she was focused on defense and dodging.

Hearing the warning and seeing Itachi's blood-smeared eye open once again, Sakura ran towards her teammate, all the while leaping to dodge the black fire. She jumped up and landed directly behind Sasuke, seeing Itachi turning his Amaterasu eye towards them once more.

"Doton: Doryuu Jouheki!"

The flames crashed into the wall of earth that rose beneath them, and Sakura and Sasuke leapt behind it, safe until the flames finished consuming the earth.

"I've never been more grateful to Kashi-sensei for teaching me his doton jutsu," Sakura muttered, "I think it's working. I can sense that he's getting tired. But I'm spent," over ten uses of high-level doton jutsu was her limit, and it was too risky to go close enough for taijutsu, "you don't need to focus on conserving your chakra anymore."

Their general plan had been to run and dodge until Itachi grew tired, and then attack with everything they had.

"A few more attacks should do it," Sasuke nodded, "stay behind here, I'll finish it," he didn't know why Itachi was suddenly so weak, but he wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

He walked out slowly from behind the earth wall, making seals as he went. Finally, he leapt out.

"Katon: Goryuuka no Jutsu!"

Sasuke grinned and channeled chakra into his most powerful katon justu, watching as the large dragon of fire shot out from his hands. Even the Amaterasu had to have trouble with this.

Itachi saw the attack coming. From within his cloak, he swiftly drew out a kunai and used one hand to wrap wire around it. He threw the kunai until it lodged in one of Sakura's many doton walls, and pulled. Just as the fire dragon reached him, he was drawn quickly out of its path.

But it wasn't a perfect escape. He crashed into the wall and almost collapsed, using his grip on the kunai to steady himself. He looked up to see Sasuke's triumphant grin. _Foolish child…_

"You overestimate yourself, Otouto," Itachi said simply, not revealing that his entire body was now in severe pain from the last stages of his illness. He blinked, and tried not to squint as his brother's face appeared to him as a pale smear.

"I'm not the one who can barely stand," Sasuke retorted, "I'll take your eyes, _aniki._" His voice was light, but the look in his eyes spoke of his determination.

"Foolish Otouto…you have seen nothing," Itachi said softly.

Sasuke looked at his older brother, still half-leaning on the wall, and narrowed his eyes. This was it. His brother did not seem to have any chakra left, and he was weakened. This was the moment when his clan would finally attain vengeance.

When he brought his visibly shaking fingers up to perform the hand seals once more, they were slow and deliberate. He wanted Itachi to _see _his demise, to _look _at the person who had finally defeated him. The person who he had betrayed.

"Katon:" his fingers came together in front of his mouth, "Goryuuka no Jutsu!"

This time, there was nowhere for him to run. Itachi was cornered, leaning against the wall, unable to move. He would not be able to defend against this attack. Sasuke grinned widely, feeling like a long journey had finally come to an end. He didn't wait to see what effect his fire-dragon had done, he didn't want to see the charred remains that would declare him the very last Uchiha in existence. Now…he could finally return to Konoha and live out the rest of his life.

"Otouto."

With that one word, all the fear that had melted away rushed back into him at once. His back was turned to his brother, but in front of him, Sakura had come out from behind the doton wall. Her eyes were wide and she was frozen in her spot. Slowly, she raised a hand and pointed behind him.

Sasuke turned slowly, dreading what he was going to see and knowing exactly what it was, all at once.

"You have overestimated yourself once more," Itachi rose, shrouded by red, "Susano'o!"

They watched the giant shielded skeleton in horror as it slowly grew more layers around its skeletal form. Muscles, skin, _armor. _It towered above them, the very zenith of power. Sasuke could not take his eyes off it, and was stuck in place. His eyes grew wide, and the red irises slowly began to fade to black.

What was more horrifying was the red shield of chakra that stood in front of Itachi, lined and rimmed. Against it, the great dragon of fire had dissipated as if it was merely an overpowered torch light.

"Sasuke!" Suddenly his arm was being pulled, nails digging into him. He turned slowly to see Sakura standing there, forehead lined with sweat and a desperate look on her face. "Snap out of it!"

Yes. Sasuke looked back to the giant figure that towered over Itachi and tried to quell the fear. It didn't matter if this truly was the invincible power of the Uchiha. It didn't matter if Itachi was able to wield it while he looked half-dead and more-than-half-blind. This was the man who had killed his entire clan.

He could not rely on Sakura's help anymore, they had already exhausted her chakra. He had to find a way to deal with this himself. Sasuke narrowed his eyes and brought his hands together again.

"Katon: Goryuuka no Jutsu!" He thrust chakra out through his hands, not caring about technique or form, and only about power. This was the most powerful katon jutsu that had been in the Uchiha scrolls, the most powerful jutsu that even his father had been able to use. It _had _to have some sort of effect. The great fire dragon burst from his hands once more.

"Sakura, go!" he instructed. The pink haired girl nodded, fully aware that she would not be able to heal him after the attack if she was taken out as well. Tsunade-sama had instructed her in the code of the iryounin, and there was one rule that was always followed.

A field iryounin must always be the last one standing.

She ran to one side, away from the fight as the fire dragon rushed towards Susano'o. Sasuke gritted his teeth and watched as the dragon made contact, crashing against the red barrier that Susano'o had put up in front of Itachi. He watched as it began to spread across the surface…and slowly dissipate.

"That is…the Yatta Mirror," Itachi managed, blood coming out of his mouth along with the words, "it is…impenetrable."

"Nothing is impenetrable!" Sasuke yelled. The great chakra form of Susano'o began to put together two large hands, and blue circles began to form between them. Almost like…beads.

Sasuke sensed the attack, and crashed his fingers together again, feeling the hopelessness of the situation. He could no longer win, if that shield was truly impenetrable. Itachi was half-dead, and he could _still _defeat him so easily. Sasuke blinked back tears of frustration and felt the lock in his throat. He was a failure after all. The proof was staring him in the eyes.

And he had only enough chakra for one more attack.

His reddened eyes looked back up at Itachi, pure hatred etched on them. He was _not _going down in so easily. It was strange how all the fear suddenly disappeared when he accepted that he was going to die. The blue beads between Itachi's Susano'o's hands began to grow.

"Behold the Yasaka no Magatama!" Itachi yelled, his throat raw and sore with the blood that was still making its way up. It was clear that he would only be able to fight for a few more seconds. Sasuke knew that if he used the last of his chakra to attack and hold off Susano'o for another minute, then Itachi would run out of chakra. Then, he could rush in with his kunai. He would probably die in the process, but if he could only take that bastard down with it, it would all be worth it.

The beads between Susano'o's hands – the Yasaka Magatama – began to fly out, as if each of them were overpowered shuriken. Sasuke blinked in confusion when he realized that they were not headed his way. Then the understanding dawned on him, and all the fear that had been lost within his adrenaline began to rise once again.

The attack was meant for Sakura.

He watched in horror as the blue beads headed directly for her retreating back. They had used up all her chakra in those defensive attacks…she should have regained some, but not nearly enough to defend against the Yasaka Magatama.

Within that second, the sharper part of his mind suddenly became clear with another fact. The attack had not been sent _by_ the Susano'o, it _was _the Susano'o. The great figure's chakra was draining into the beads, taking its impenetrable shield with it. Slowly, as the attack went towards Sakura, Itachi was being left defenseless.

Sasuke still had chakra for one more jutsu, but one jutsu was all he needed. His fingers hesitated just the slightest bit, even as he forced them to form the seals for the Goryuuka.

_Attack, damn it!_

He was _open. _Uchiha Itachi was _open, _half bent-over and clutching one hand to the eye that was slowly fading back into the normal Sharingan. He could attack now and _win. _It was something that had seemed certain two hours ago, but impossible two minutes ago, but Uchiha Sasuke had the chance to finally defeat his older brother.

But the beads were still heading for Sakura. It was easy to think of his dead parents. It was _easier _to think of Haruno Sakura, who was _there _and _solid _and _alive. _

Could he walk back to Konoha and inform Naruto and Kakashi-sensei that the sacrifice for avenging his clan had been the life of the girl they had all grown to love? The girl who had begun with the small dream of – for some reason – dating him, and had grown into a kunoichi whose aspiration was to become a truly worthy shinobi…was her life worth the three hundred that had been claimed that night?

_Was this how you felt, sensei?_

He wondered if he was capable of it. Capable of giving up the only chance he had at revenge to safe the life of a teammate. Abandoning his life-long goal to help another fulfill hers.

Finally, he made his decision.

"Katon: Goryuuka no Jutsu!"

The giant dragon of fire went rushing. Sakura had just turned around at the last moment, wide-eyed and fearful. Itachi was barely managing to keep his eyes open, but he was looking at the path of the fire dragon with what seemed like faint amusement in his eyes.

Sakura saw the Yasaka Magatama and dropped to her knees. She had no chakra left for a defense, and the taijutsu she was so prized for would do nothing against the legendary weapon of an even _more _legendary weapon.

But she reminded herself that this was what she had signed up for when she agreed to help Sasuke. She had done her part. Without her, her teammate would have died long ago, but now he had the chance to fulfill his goal. Maybe once Itachi was dead, Sasuke would go back and lead a normal life again. He would stop being plagued by his past, and become a shinobi that Konoha would be truly proud of.

It was a pity that she would never see her friends again, but this was the life of a shinobi, after all. For having died fighting Uchiha Itachi, her name would be forever stamped in history. It was a small consolation, but the thought of having helped her friend was more than enough.

She was utterly confused when the great fire dragon crashed into the Yasaka Magatama, sending both attacks flying to one side. Sakura could feel the fire so close it scorched some of the strands of her hair, and she could do nothing but watch wide-eyed as both the dragon and the Yasaka beads flew into the trees below the hill, setting the nearby forest on fire.

Meters to her right, Sasuke collapsed on the spot from chakra exhaustion. He craned his head towards her, and tried to convey 'run!' with all the expression he could manage. Then his eyes closed, and Sakura suspected that he would not wake for at least a few hours.

In front of her, Uchiha Itachi was still standing, but barely. The Amaterasu eye had made a bloody mess of one side of his face, and he was leaning heavily on one leg. It would have been apparent to anyone that he was finished fighting. Only the kunai held tightly in one hand indicated that he would be any difficulty to take out.

Sakura narrowed her eyes. Sasuke had saved her, now she had to repay him. If she ran, Itachi would take her teammate's eyes, and she couldn't allow that. Slowly, she stood up and took another kunai from her pouch. She didn't have enough chakra to perform jutsu, but she had enough to stand and fight.

She didn't care about the legendary Uchiha shurikenjutsu. She was going to take down this person who had brought Sasuke so much pain. She was going to bring his head to Sasuke herself and watch his relief as the burden on his shoulders fell away.

With that in mind, Sakura stood up slowly, clutching the kunai, and walked forward.

She did not expect Uchiha Itachi to smile.

"So he has travelled a different path, but one no less difficult," he murmured, "come closer, friend of my Otouto."

Sakura kept her guard up, even as he dropped his kunai. She approached, fully prepared to slit his throat.

"Listen," Itachi began, his voice rough, "it will be easier for you…if I am still alive. You are an iryounin trained by Tsunade-sama…are you not? Then you should know that…the procedure is…better if the…eye is still…supplied…with blood."

With that, he slowly turned to walk to where Sasuke was lying on the ground. Sakura rushed over to stand protectively in front of her teammate as the older Uchiha walked at the pace of an old man, trying not to lean on his injured leg.

When Itachi was so close that she could reach out and touch him, he allowed himself to collapse onto his side, facing his brother where he had fallen. Sakura looked down at him, confused.

He looked back up at he and smiled again, "do it."

The two words were not clear, but the color of his eyes was clear enough. Clear, and completely different. Her throat hitched as she realized exactly what his man had been trying to do all along.

Almost mechanically, she knelt down beside him. From her pack, she withdrew her medical kit in one hand, and took out two soldier pills in the other hand. One, she swallowed, and she pushed the other one into Itachi's mouth, where he willingly bit down on it.

"If you blink-" she began.

"I wont," Itachi rasped, "I will never blink again." He would never do anything that could ruin this moment for his brother.

And he was right. As Sakura took out the small scalpel, his eyelids never even twitched.

Instead, one hand reached past her leg to slowly tap two fingers against his unconscious brother's forehead.

ooooo

"Is this it?" Kakashi asked sharply, looking out at the circular building on top of the hill.

"Yes," Pakkun nodded, "their scent ends halfway up, so I assume that they're on the very top."

"I don't hear the sounds of battle," Shizune bit her lip, "could it be?…"

"I certainly hope not," Yamato looked worriedly at his senpai.

Kakashi didn't comment. Within seconds he had grabbed Shizune's arm and performed a shunshin with the full speed that he had once had within the anbu. Yamato followed as he kept up the technique.

Four seconds later, they had reached the top. The three of them winced at the destruction around them. Large walls of rock…pieces of the roof still burning with _black fire, _smoldering piles of ashes, and a large dent inwards directly in the middle. On one side below, the entire forest had been set alight.

Inside this dent in the middle were three figures.

Kakashi gripped Shizune's arm more tightly and shunshined directly in front of the three. Two – Uchiha Sasuke and Uchiha Itachi – were lying flat on the ground, facing upwards. Between them was one sweat-and-dirt covered Haruno Sakura. She was so deeply concentrated in the green light which covered Sasuke's closed but bleeding eyes that she didn't even notice his appearance.

"How is he?" Kakashi asked, kneeling down beside her. The girl was probably in shock, but he needed to know.

"Fine. Chakra exhaustion. Cuts. Transplant." She reported almost robotically, never taking her eyes off the Shousen.

With that, the masked jonin could not help heaving a huge sigh of relief. Both his students were alright…his precious teammates were still alive…

Main duty fulfilled, he turned to look at the other figure lying still. He looked dead…if not for the slight twitch of his finger when Kakashi had suddenly spoken. Even so, he did not say anything, probably hoping that they would mistake him for dead. In his condition it was impossible for him to say anything anyway.

Kakashi knew better. He turned around and gestured to Shizune, "see what you can do for him."

Shizune looked over Sasuke, "he seems fine. I'd ask why his eyes are bleeding though…"

"Not Sasuke. Itachi."

She gave him a strange look, but it quickly morphed into understand as she sat down beside her new patient.

"Why?" Yamato asked, "I would not do that, senpai. It is possible that he could still be dangerous…"

"Look at Itachi's eyes," he demanded, "it's happened again. Itachi is…we have to speak to him. We have to ask why."

Both of them turned to look at the older Uchiha sockets. His eyelids had been closed, but the slight dip was evident. He no longer had his eyes. Then there was Sasuke, whose eyes still had drying blood around them. His eyelids were closed as well underneath Sakura's Shousen, but the dried blood indicated enough.

"This man…" Shizune breathed, "I don't know how he is still alive!"

"What?" At this, Sakura head snapped around to regard her senpai, "what do you mean?"

"This illness…," Shizune continued, "I can drag him out a little longer but he needs full treatment…the flesh wounds will be easy to heal and Sakura's extraction was impeccable so he isn't losing too much blood from his eyes but this condition…"

"Can he survive a little longer?" Kakashi pressed, "just a few more days?..."

"Maybe," Shizune bit her lip, "he's been doing this to himself as well. If he had taken the right precautions…he must have been living like this for at least a few months!"

Sakura winced, "we thought…that it was because he was drained of chakra. He was weak from the very beginning," she hung her head down, "I'm sorry, sensei."

"There's nothing for you to apologize for," Kakashi told her, "I would have done the same in your position."

She spared a moment to give him a tired smile before returning to Sasuke's treatment.

"Are you finished with the transplant?" Shizune asked, her green Shousen appearing over Itachi's chest, "I would help, but this one needs immediate attention."

"It's finished," Sakura told her, "I've done an eye transplant on a civilian man before during my time in the hospital. The risks were considerably higher this time…but I know it worked. His optical nerves are connected."

"I don't doubt it, Sakura," the small smile under Kakashi's mask reached his revealed eye. Rin had been able to do the same for him at the young age of thirteen, and she hadn't been trained by Senju Tsunade herself.

"I'll keep watch for any other appearances," Yamato informed them, turning to look over the land below, "there is a chance that Itachi's Akatsuki partner may come after him."

Kakashi almost chuckled, "I came here to fight Uchiha Itachi," he murmured, "if anyone comes, I'll destroy them," there was a glint in his eye below the lightness.

ooooo

"Uzumaki Naruto! If you don't stop walking around I will _make _you stop."

Hearing that, the blond boy winced and plopped down on the couch with a sigh beside Senju Tsunade, who had her arms crossed over her chest and was tapping her fingers.

Seeing his desolate look, she softened and reached over to lay a hand on the younger boy's shoulder, "they'll do whatever they can," she assured, "I've learned long ago that there's no use worrying about these things. I would have gone with them, but you probably already know why I didn't. Would you like more of Shizune's leftover cooking from yesterday?"

After Kakashi and Yamato had left, Naruto had immediately run over to the first person he knew would understand and had spilled everything to her. Tsunade and taken one look at his face, which contained more worry that a young boy's ever should, and had decided to lock him up until he regained his mind.

"I'm not hungry," Naruto said gruffly.

"I think she has some instant ramen in the cupboards," Tsunade informed him.

"…sure."

Naruto followed the blond kunoichi into the kitchen and watched as she took out a familiar looking cup from the cupboard, placing it in front of him. She then turned to catch hot water from the tap in a glass and set it in front of him along with two chopsticks.

"You know, it doesn't matter if they're all half dead," Tsunade commented, "Shizune could probably rival me in iryou-ninjutsu at this point if she improved her stamina." She watched the younger boy peel up the cover and pour the hot water inside the cup, setting the paper lid back on and putting his chopsticks on top.

"I thought he changed," Naruto told her bluntly, "I thought that he'd think we were more important than his revenge."

"Listen," Tsunade sighed, "sometimes people don't always do the most for the people they consider the most important. I've learned that lesson ten times over, and you have to accept it. We generally call these people idiots, but they can't help it. As far as you've told me, this Sasuke has been dedicated to vengeance since he was a little boy. Something like that is hard to get rid of."

"I thought he'd do it for me and Sakura," Naruto muttered, "why'd he have to turn out as such a teme again? I mean, I worked really hard trying to change him!"

"Silly kid," she reached over and flicked his forehead, "would he have been _him _if he was different?"

"Well no…but he wouldn't have run away!"

"Listen, were you trying to get _your _Sasuke back?" She questioned.

"Of course!" Naruto insisted.

"Then you have Sasuke back. He didn't leave the village like he did in your time," she told him, "but if he had suddenly become a light-hearted friendly pansy, then would he have still been _Sasuke_?"

Naruto understood her point all too well. It was strange, but personalities were incredibly resilient. It would have taken a lot more to uproot Sasuke's deep-set goal of life. Then again, otherwise he would be someone completely different…

"So calm down, alright," she gave him a rare soft smile, "Kakashi is with them. You may not know this, but in the right situations that man gets even stronger. More than anything, he'll never let his friends die. He's Minato's student, after all. And Jiraiya-baka's student's student. And Hiruzen sensei's student's student's student.

All those hard-headed idiots are practically related."

At this, Naruto managed a small smile. It didn't take much to cheer him up on the worst of days, and his baa-chan had a talent for repaying him for all the times he had cheered her up.

Suddenly, there was a banging sound on the apartment door. Naruto forgot about his ramen and rushed behind Tsunade to the front where he thrust open the door.

Outside, a brown-haired man had his hand posed to knock again.

"Yamato-senpai!" Naruto greeted, "what happened?"

"They're fine," he said hurriedly, "but Tsunade-sama, we need your help. Please follow me."

Tsunade and Naruto ran after him without a word.

ooooo

"Shizune nee-chan, is it really ok to leave baa-chan with Itachi?" Naruto asked worriedly, "I mean…"

"It'll be fine, Naruto-kun," she replied, "I washed the blood off and dressed him in the hospital gown I kept in my medical kit. As long as she doesn't go near his leg she'll be alright." She tightened her hand around the bloodstained washcloth by her side.

They were gathered outside the small, abandoned shinobi rest stop a few kilometers from the gates, sitting with their backs against the wooden building. It was quickly become their headquarters outside of the village. After all, they could not be seen bringing _Uchiha Itachi _inside Konoha. Inside the wooden building was Tsunade with her new patient, and it had already been over two hours since she had arrived.

Kakashi sat on the other side of Shizune, and Sasuke was laid out in front of them, still unconscious. Sakura sat near him, knees drawn up to her chest. Yamato was beside Naruto, nursing a bruise on his head. He had tried to peer into the room, only to be punched into the nearby trees. Tsunade did not let anyone see her when she was fully focused on her treatment, and he was unfortunate enough to not know why.

"What about Sasuke?" Naruto questioned, "when will he wake up?"

"I've given him a powdered soldier pill," Sakura reported, "he should wake up any time now."

"So…what are we going to do with _him_?"

At this, everyone turned to Kakashi, who was their unofficial leader while Gaara was away.

"Well, the final decision belongs to Tsunade-san," he began, "but for now all we can do is keep him here. We can report that they managed to kill Itachi and Sakura performed the transplant."

"Is it wise to allow people to know that he has such an ability?" Shizune wondered.

"No, but the Hokage must know," Kakashi replied, "I have a feeling that Sandaime-sama is aware of this Mangekyou condition. He was trained by the younger brother of the Shodai, after all, and that was during Madara's time."

"That's true," Yamato sighed, "but are you sure, Sakura? The Yatta Mirror?"

"That's what he said," Sakura bit her lip, "is it truly impenetrable?"

"I've heard that it was," the brown-haired man replied, "it is one of the three great shinobi treasures, along with the Blade of Kusanagi and the Yasaka Magatama. But how was he able to use something like that, he was known as a low-chakra type!"

"He wasn't exactly using his chakra," Shizune said softly, "he was exchanging his own time for its use. Every minute that he kept up whatever that attack drained months from his lifespan."

"Susano'o remained up for almost five minutes," Sakura offered, "after Sasuke went down, I looked at Itachi and saw that even though he _looked _spent, his Sharingan was still activated, unlike Sasuke's. That's when I understood that there was something else that was wrong with him, and when he spoke to me it was clear that he planned for Sasuke to take his eyes."

"With that kind of exertion, Tsunade-sama might be able to drag him out, but I'm not sure how long he'll last. I would say that if he hadn't fought that battle, he could have lived bedridden for another year," the dark-haired iryounin sighed.

"But…why?" Sakura finally asked, "why did Itachi do that? He…killed his entire clan…"

"There was a reason for it," Kakashi spoke up, "I don't know exactly what it was, but Itachi did not do that on a whim."

At that moment, a small groan interrupted the silence. Everyone's eyes were suddenly on Sasuke's face as he cringed slightly, wincing as he felt the evening sunlight on his eyes.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura bent over his face, watching breathlessly as his eyelids twitched. What they saw would be the final verdict on whether the transplant had worked. Kakashi came to lean over beside her, and even Naruto bounded over.

The Uchiha boy's eyes opened slowly, and he looked up at the three figures leaning over him. At first, their faces were incredibly blurry, but then everything slowly began to come into focus.

Sakura sighed in plain relief when his irises appeared black, and not embedded with the permanent pattern of the Mangekyou. It meant that his optical nerves had connected properly, and that he had control over the doujutsu.

Almost immediately after opening them, he shut his eyes tightly, groaning with the pain. He vaguely felt soft hands tying a long cloth around his head.

"There," Sakura leaned back and observed her handiwork, "I wouldn't advise using those eyes for a week. My last eye-transplant patient had to keep them on for a month, but shinobi heal faster."

"Sa…kura?" He managed, reaching up blindly with both hands. She moved into position so that he could use her shoulder to pull himself up, "wha…happened?"

"You have Itachi's eyes," she reported, "I've transplanted them into you."

Sasuke stilled, his hands digging into her shoulder. Itachi was…defeated? How had that happened? Beneath the confusion, he felt an underlying relief. It was a shame he hadn't been able to deal the last blow but maybe Sakura had…

"He _meant _to give them to you, Sasuke," Kakashi's voice spoke up, "he asked Sakura to transplant them. He wasn't trying to kill you."

"No…" He stuttered, "that…_that man _is…"

"We're in a small shed near Konoha," Naruto told him with a grin, "your brother is inside, being healed."

"Dobe! Why are you letting him-" his words broke off in coughing.

Naruto waited for him to finish before continuing, "he's not going to be able to do much without his eyes, you know. Not against Tsunade baa-chan. And I've thought about it a lot, so I've decided that I'm going to wait until you're ok before beating the hell out of you for running off like that."

"Tsunade-sama? But he'll…he'll be healed!" He protested in a rough voice.

"Yes, that is the point of having her _heal _him," Kakashi told him, slightly amused. Behind him, Yamato stood and looked over his shoulder at the boy.

"I…worked hard to bring him to that condition! And my eyes…they feel like they've been set on fire," he cringed and dropped his head into his hands.

"Yes, that's an aftereffect," Sakura explained, "your body is trying to accept the new additions. I've made sure that they won't be rejected, but it'll hurt for a while."

"She did a good job," Shizune spoke up, standing behind Sakura, "congratulations on attaining this 'Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan'."

"I…have it," Sasuke finally said, slightly wondrous. He rubbed his hands over the bandages covering his eyes, "I…have the Mangekyou Sharingan…"

Suddenly, they all heard the creak of a wooden door. Tsunade peered out from inside the wooden building, sweat lining her forehead. She looked as young as ever.

"He's stable," she announced, "and he's awake, but he won't speak."

"Good," Sasuke decided, "let me at him-"

Sakura jabbed a finger into a certain spot at the back of his neck, and he slowly fell unconscious once again. Kakashi raised an eyebrow in amusement.

"What?" She shrugged, "it'll be easier this way."

"Even _I_ was willing to wait until he was healed," Naruto grumbled.


	31. The Knowledge of the Future

**Chapter 31 – The Knowledge of the Future**

"How is Sasuke?"

After stubbornly remaining silent for over twenty minutes, those were the first words he said. He probably realized that Sasuke's voice was not among the ones quarreling around him.

"He's fine...Sakura knocked him out so that he wouldn't try to kill you," Kakashi told him, peering down at the man lying face-up on the floor. Tsunade had taken no chances and had bound his hands and feet down, and yet he still somehow managed to sound dignified. Even with a cloth tied around his eyes and a hospital robe that hung around his thin form like a sheet.

Itachi didn't comment on that, and barely moved.

"We've brought you to a small abandoned shed near Konoha," Tsunade tried, "the people gathered here are Hatake Kakashi, Haruno Sakura, Uzumaki Naruto, Senju Tsunade, and Katou Shizune."

"Kakashi…" Itachi whispered.

"That's Kakashi-senpai to you, Weasel," the masked jonin said lightly, trying to ease him up and coax him to keep speaking.

Yamato coughed loudly.

"Oh right," Tsunade went on, "there's also…"

"Anbu operative Tenzou, Division two squad one, Cat," the brown-haired man replied. They had only ever interacted briefly, but the Weasel was known to never forget a name.

Itachi's fingers twitched, maybe in recognition.

"You've met most of us before, then?" Tsunade asked. She had not been in the village during the time of the massacre, and did not have the same grudge against him that many others had.

"He might not remember me," Naruto spoke up, "I've only talked to him for a minute at most."

"The loud blond one." Came the soft voice

"Well," Shizune muttered, "he certainly remembers you..."

Naruto looked back towards Itachi, "we all know the truth about the massacre, that Danzo and the others made you do it and that you meant to give Sasuke your eyes all along."

"But we have a question for you," Kakashi continued, "was there another reason why you killed your clan? Or a reason why Sasuke must have the Mangekyou when the better choice would have been to destroy it?"

Itachi remained quiet for a while, but he finally decided to answer.

"There is…another Uchiha," he said softly, "he will come for Sasuke."

"And…you gave Sasuke the eyes so he will be able to protect himself?" Kakashi tried, "was this other Uchiha somehow involved in the massacre?"

Itachi's fingers twitched again, and he noticed something different, "you do not seem surprised."

"I'm surprised," Sakura muttered.

"We'll explain later," Yamato told her, "why don't you go outside and help Sasuke recover from…whatever you did to him."

Sakura opened her mouth as if to protest, but she recognized that this was something she was not involved in. She nodded and exited the shed.

"We already know that Uchiha Madara is alive," Naruto said once she was gone, "we're going to have to face him one day."

"Yes…Madara is alive," Itachi managed to shift his head towards the voice, "why are you here, Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi? How much do you know?"

"Um…Kakashi-sensei told me everything," the boy replied, "so that Kyuubi and I can be useful when they have to fight the Akatsuki."

"You defeated Kakuzu," it wasn't a question; merely a fact, "and you control the Kyuubi."

"He is strong enough to help defeat Madara," Kakashi cut in, "but was I correct? Did Madara have something to do with the massacre?"

Itachi took a long pause, "he helped. It was my clan, or the rest of Konoha."

"I see," he sighed, "one day, when all the people that put you to this die out, we'll try to see that your name is cleared. I'm on the list for Hokage after all…"

"Tsunade baa-chan will be Hokage!"

"Shut up let him walk into the trap, Naruto."

"Why did you bring me here?" Itachi asked, no longer bothering to remain silent.

"Well, mostly to ask you that question," Naruto responded, "and also to see if you had any important information on the Akatsuki."

"You sound like you plan to attack instead of defend," Itachi said softly.

"The Akatsuki who calls himself Pein," Tsunade began, " he learned ninjutsu from my teammate, and he possesses the Rinnegan. Jiraiya…wishes to have his student back. We want to go to Ame because we think we can bring him back to our side"

"It is useless," the older Uchiha said immediately, "Pein-sama will never leave Madara's side."

"Don't say that so fast," Tsunade muttered, "a little bit of Naruto Therapy will cure anyone. Your 'Pein-sama' will be singing the praises of friendship in no time."

"He is too far gone."

"I'll bring him back!" Naruto declared, "because he could be the child of prophecy and the world would be doomed without him."

"You know, Naruto, you fit the description as well," Kakashi offered, "the fate of the world _could _lay in _your _hands."

"We're doomed," Tsunade mumbled.

Itachi remained silent.

Kakashi shifted closer, peering at Itachi's bandaged eyes, "and Orochimaru? He's in Amegakure as well, isn't he?"

For some reason, the older Uchiha did not hesitate to answer this, "yes. He is in the cells below the main tower. When…_if_…you ever go there, you must bring him back with you," he stressed, "do not…leave him there."

Yamato, Kakashi, Shizune, and Tsunade looked confused, but Naruto's eyes lit up.

"Oh!" he began, "because Orochi-teme is the only one that can release the Edo Tensei jutsu, right?"

"…yes. Of course."

Naruto frowned, "but can you tell us where Pein's real body is? I mean, we plan to have some of us search for it, but things would be a lot easier if we knew where it was before we enter."

"Pein-sama's…real body?" Itachi looked slightly confused, if the downturn of his lips could be read, "there is only one Deva Pein-sama."

"He probably really doesn't know, Naruto," Kakashi offered, "there's only one leader of Ame, after all."

Itachi's finger twitched again, and they thought he would speak, but he remained silent again. After all, there was no use asking. He knew that he would die soon, and the knowledge would be useless in his hands.

"Can you give us any more helpful information?" Kakashi pressed.

"It would be wise to speak while you can," Tsunade told him seriously, "you will remain stable for the rest of the day, at least, but a week will be difficult and you won't survive the month. I would ask why you haven't been taking better care of yourself…but that probably isn't the first thing on an S-rank missing-nin's mind."

"Madara…I think you've met him," Itachi said softly, "he went by another name before."

They all unconsciously leaned closer.

"He called himself Tobi."

"T-Tobi?" Naruto spluttered, "you're pulling my leg, Uchiha."

"I am serious," the even voice went on, "he did indeed act like a fool for most of his time, but Madara is the man who wears the orange mask."

"Orange…mask?" Kakashi muttered, turning to Naruto.

The blond boy nodded, "yeah, I've seen that mask. But…woah, Uchiha Madara ran away from Sasuke because he had a scary face…"

Itachi's head snapped sharply towards the sound of Naruto's voice, which was more movement than any of them had seen from him so far, "what?"

"It's nothing," Kakashi said quickly, "it's just that…Tobi person was disguised as a competitor in the chunin exams, and he forfeited when placed up against Sasuke. It seemed that he was only playing around."

Itachi's head straightened again, and he remained quiet for a while. "Kill me," he said suddenly, "if I remain alive for too long, Madara will come after me. He will know if I die, and hopefully then he will think that you have brought me here for interrogation."

"Little fool," Tsunade declared, "Madara can come and face me if he wants. I won't let anyone take a patient of mine." As a sannin, she was one of the few people who could say something like that with good reason.

"You must not fight him," Itachi stressed, "it must be Hatake Kakashi-san who fights him. He is the only one who will be able to defeat him."

"Me?" Kakashi looked utterly confused, "why only me? I have the Mangekyou, but I don't have the stamina to fight someone like Madara. Does this have something to do with that time you caught me in your genjutsu?"

"Yes," the older Uchiha managed to nod stiffly, "I have shared some of my powers with you…Yatagarasu is inside you…but the connection…is not too strong since he was suspicious. You must use your Mangekyou Sharingan against him."

"Sasuke has a Mangekyou Sharingan as well, now," the masked jonin said softly, "and he is able to use it far better than I can. Wait, you shared some of your power with me? That…crow was real? It wasn't simply another genjutsu?"

Itachi's voice was suddenly low, "do not allow Sasuke to go anywhere near Madara. It…must be you," he suddenly began to cough.

"Stop," Tsunade ordered, "he's over-exerting himself. Leave him for the night, and tomorrow maybe we can bring Sasuke to see him and then send the boy back to Konoha. Your mission lasts for another day, I think."

"No," Itachi said, his voice slightly harsh, "he cannot know…he should not-"

"Sasuke has a right to know," Naruto declared, "he deserves to know that he wasn't betrayed. He needs to hear for himself that his brother still loves him cause he sure as hell isn't going to believe us."

ooooo

The morning air around Team Seven was thick with tension.

They were sitting near the river, a few minutes away from the wooden shed where Itachi was resting. Behind them on the bank were Kakashi, Shizune, and Yamato's tents, which they had occupied for the night while Yamato and Shizune headed back to Konoha. Sasuke was dipping a piece of cloth in the water and methodically washing the remnants dried blood off his arms. Since he had slept in the bloodstained clothing, they were difficult to remove. The cloth was still tied around his eyes, and he had to pat around to find the crusted patches.

"You know," Kakashi began, "it was nice when you were all small and more adorable. How about you all behave like twelve-year-olds again? I'll even let you read a pre-approved extract from my latest book, if you do it properly."

"And…that's going to motivate us to act like little kids?" Sakura raised an eyebrow and inched slightly away from him.

"Mou…you're always trying to read over my shoulder," he trailed.

"Only Naruto-baka does that!"

"No, he's the only one who gets caught," Kakashi said knowingly. Sakura huffed and Sasuke paid him no mind, continuing to scrub his arm.

"I've already read those stupid books," Naruto informed them from where he was sitting beside Sasuke on the bank, "after reading the Tales of a Gutsy Ninja, I wanted to see if Ero-Sennin's other books were any good."

"Well, you still act like a twelve-year-old anyway," the masked jonin muttered. His eyes softened at the mention of his favorite author's first book. It was the one he liked best, although he would never admit it. If asked, he usually said that Icha Icha violence took that position.

The silence took over once again. Sakura shifted on the ground. Since she had left their discussion with Itachi, she had been by Sasuke, telling him everything that had happened. She thought that he would be happy, especially since he had given her many of his rare smiles since they had come back alive together.

However, the moment he heard of Itachi's supposed 'innocence', he had gone back to glaring. He hadn't listened to anyone's explanations and had instead set up and gone to mope inside the first tent he spotted while walking around touching everything with his hands to make up for his temporary blindness. It happened to be Kakashi's tent, and even _he _didn't wish to disrupt the boy's mood, and so the masked jonin had been stuck with Naruto's night cuddling. Sasuke seemed completely unsure of how to behave with the new information, and was slightly defensive.

"Ok," Naruto finally stood up in front of Sasuke, "listen up, teme. You're going to drag your butt inside that tent and have a long talk with your brother," he instructed, "do you really think he would be able to fool Kashi-sensei and Tsunade baa-chan?"

"It's _him_," Sasuke muttered, "I'm accounting for the possibility," he thrust the cloth to one side and slipped back into his shirt, gritting his teeth as his arm mistakenly went through one of the kunai tears instead of the arm-hole. The shirt quickly became a mess of tangled cloth around his head and he ripped it off with an angry look and threw it to the side. Without his sight, he was a mess.

"Yeah well suck it up," Sakura told him, "do you think your Mangekyou eyes fell from the sky?"

"Ch."

"Listen," Kakashi sighed, "I didn't want to tell you this, but I think you have to know," at the sternness in his tone, Sasuke turned to his voice him curiously.

"There is another reason why Itachi had to perform the massacre," the other jonin said quietly, "there was a threat to the village."

"Ch. There's always a threat to the village. It's a Hidden Village after all," Sasuke stood up from beside the water and walked towards Kakashi's voice. The jonin held up a hand and took Sasuke's arm, leading him to sit down in front of him.

"This threat was worse than anything else," his former sensei continued, "you and Itachi are not the only Uchiha left alive right now."

"Hmm? How convenient. A mystery Uchiha," at this point, Sasuke was more in denial than anything. His throat was slightly restricted and his words came out muffled as various emotions swam within him.

"The third person is Uchiha Madara," Kakashi narrowed his eyes, "and I know he exists because I've seen him before. He was with Orochimaru during the chunin exams."

"Ch. If Orochimaru had someone like Madara helping him, Konoha would have sustained many more losses," Sasuke muttered, "how can I believe something like that?"

"But he wasn't there to help Orochi-teme," Naruto spoke up while Sakura listened with interest, "he was there for you, Sasuke. He tried to take you, but decided not to when the Snake was defeated by Sandaime-jiji."

Sasuke remained silent, contemplating. He remembered what Neji and Tenten had told him after he had woken up from his injuries.

"That's why Itachi needed to die and give you the Eternal Mangekyou, Sasuke," Kakashi said softly, "because he wanted you to be able to protect yourself against Madara."

"But then…why did he kill our clan? It doesn't make sense!" Sasuke waved a hand blindly, bandaged eyes facing the direction of the voices.

"Because Madara gave him a choice," the other jonin went on, "his clan, or his village. Itachi is loyal to Konoha."

"That…" Sasuke was lost for words. He felt two pairs of hands on either side of him, lifting him up.

"We're taking you to Itachi!" Naruto began, "after you see him, your revenge days will finally be over and you can stop being a teme!"

"And we don't care if you want to go quietly or kicking and screaming," Sakura said firmly, "but I'd rather not punch a disabled patient."

Sasuke could only grit his teeth and bear it as he was dragged away from the river and towards the small wooden shed. When they reached the building, Tsunade was just coming outside. She saw Sasuke and grinned, "he's been asking all about you, but he doesn't want to see you," she said quietly.

"I don't care about what he wants," Sasuke growled in the direction of her voice. He felt terribly disoriented without anything solid to hold onto, and stumbled as Sakura and Naruto maneuvered him into the shed.

Tsunade approached Naruto, "I'll watch from the window," she said quietly enough so that only he would hear, "just so I can prevent…anything." Naruto nodded and handed their patient over to Sakura, who led him to the inside wall of the building and helped him sit down. Leaned up against one wall where he had been untied was Itachi.

After seeing that he was seated, he and Sakura left. Kakashi was waiting for them outside. "Sakura," he spoke up, "your parents have been worried about you, but I'll have to ask you to stay here until Sasuke returns. Yamato and Shizune went back to report the mission results, and they're going to say that I supposedly stayed back with you while you treated Sasuke for various injuries. It's partly true so they shouldn't have too much trouble with it."

"Sensei…is it alright to lie to the Hokage like this?" Sakura asked softly. She trusted her sensei with her life, but the fact that he would so blatantly speak about lying made her slightly uncomfortable.

Kakashi sighed, "Sakura, I've already told you that Sandaime-sama was overruled in the decision to wipe out the Uchiha clan. If word of this got to him, we would all be put under questioning. I wouldn't mind facing that, but Itachi would be executed for his crimes. He only has a little while longer to live…let's at least give him this."

"I understand, sensei, but lying like this…" she trailed off, watching him worriedly.

"You know," Naruto decided, "I think we should eventually tell him what happened," he noticed the immediate relief on his teammate's face, "sensei, can I talk to you?"

Sensing that they wanted to speak in private, Sakura nodded and slipped back into the trees to the shed where the two Uchiha were, standing beside Tsunade and peering in to make sure they didn't kill each other.

Once she was gone, Kakashi turned to Naruto and raised an eyebrow, "I thought you didn't want to tell him. He could greatly mess up the timeline if he wanted, and he won't be able to fight with us."

"But…I'm tired of lying like this," Naruto frowned, "I know you're really good at lying, sensei. You could lie to Sandaime-jiji's face and he would believe everything you said. It helps that you have the ultimate poker face with that mask. But…it doesn't feel right anymore. Maybe it's time to forget about future knowledge and just treat everything that happens as new."

"Are you sure?" the masked jonin questioned, "you would be losing a powerful advantage."

"I'm not sure that advantage exists anymore," the blond boy admitted, "I think…that we're just clinging to it. Me and Gaara and the other Jinchuuriki…we're hanging on to the safety of knowing what's going to happen. But that's bad, because whenever something new happens, we're surprised and scared. We've already changed so many things…I think it's time we let it out."

"You certainly can sound intelligent when you want to, Naru-kun," Kakashi said lightly, "it seems like you keep all your intelligence locked away and release it in short bursts once in a while," his face grew serious again, "but I've noticed something else. You want to tell Sandaime-sama, but you don't want to tell Sasuke or Sakura."

Naruto looked away, and found a nearby leaf incredibly interesting, "that's because…they could think that our friendship was controlled by me. I mean, I knew all about them before they even met me, how do you think they'd feel about that? I mean, you felt no differently because you were much older and already above me, but they thought that we all started out on the same level…"

His sensei's eye softened, "alright. If you're sure of this, then I agree. We'll inform Sandaime-sama...Even if he cannot fight with us, he can be of use. At least we won't have to sneak out of the village anymore…"

ooooo

"Sasuke? Are you there?"

The soft voice clashed horribly with the image Sasuke held of his brother. His murderous, emotionless, utterly _evil _brother. He imagined Itachi sitting upright in front of him, Mangekyou eyes glaring into his own. He had no idea that the man he hated so much was sitting up against the opposite wall, ankles and wrists pink from where he had been held down and white cloth tied around his eyes.

Sasuke could _feel_ the new eyes settling into his skull. Inside, he _knew _that Itachi had given him his eyes when he could have made his own eternal, and that Tsunade and Kakashi and Naruto and Sakura somehow knew about it. But it was hard to reconcile the notion with the image in his head.

"I know you are. I can hear your breathing," Itachi went on.

Hearing that, Sasuke made a valiant effort to hold his breath until Sakura came and dragged him back out. He knew that he wouldn't be able to try anything. Without his eyesight, he could barely judge his brother's location through his voice.

Eventually, he had to release the breath he had been holding, and it was loud in the quiet shed. If he had his eyes open, he would have been able to see the amused smile on Itachi's lips.

"Have they told you the truth?" His brother asked.

"They told me that you were ordered to kill our clan," Sasuke finally said somewhat reluctantly, since there was no more use trying to hide his presence, "and that Uchiha Madara is still alive."

"Yes, it is true."

"How can I believe something like that? Am I supposed to believe the brother who spoke to me all those years ago, or the one who's sitting in front of me while I can't see?" Sasuke gritted his teeth, "you told me to hate you, and that's what I'm doing."

"Good, it is better this way," Itachi sighed, "they have brought you here because they think that your need for revenge will be satiated, but I know that it was fulfilled the moment you realized that my eyes had been transplanted into you."

"I'm finished with it," Sasuke stated firmly, "It's over. They say you won't last the week. I don't need to kill someone who's already going to…" somehow he couldn't bring himself to say it.

"You've taken a different path, haven't you?" The older Uchiha asked, "that's fine. You will be strong in your own way."

"Different path? What are you saying?" As the moments grew by, Sasuke grew more disoriented. It was maddening, sitting here without being able to open his eyes, talking to the voice which had haunted him for years. He felt the rough wood of the small cabin behind his back, felt the dirt of the floor gathering between his nails and he curled his hands, but it all still felt surreal. As if he was in some sort of blind dream.

All he wanted to do was go back to Konoha, and wait for his eyes to heal so he could finally open them and _look_. He wanted to look at Sakura's face, because he thought that he'd never see it again and her ridiculously pink hair would be a treat to behold at the moment. He wanted to see the dobe's and Kakashi-senpai's faces, only because to him, they symbolized Konoha. They symbolized a welcoming into the new life he would have now that his goal was finished. He wanted to see Anko-sensei's face and tell her that he had finally achieved his revenge.

But he knew that he hadn't really gotten it. He had lost to Itachi while he was half blind and ill. He had the Mangekyou only because his brother had given it to him. He should have felt angry…but he couldn't help but feel content. If only Itachi was no longer there…but for some reason he couldn't continue that line of thought.

"When I left that night, I wanted you to be prepared to defend against Madara. I thought that you would be isolated because of what I did, and so I hoped that you could become strong through hatred," Itachi went on, "but it seems you did not have enough hatred."

"I hated you!" Sasuke growled. Unconsciously, he did not realize that he had spoken in the past tense.

Itachi noticed it, "it wasn't enough, but that was fine. You may not have become strong enough to defeat me, but I know that you will not fall prey to Madara."

"Oh?" Sasuke grumbled, wishing Sakura would return. He did not know what he was supposed to feel, and the mix of emotions was confusing him.

"You have people who will protect you."

"I can protect myself!"

"Maybe now you can. I have given you all of my abilities, Otouto," came the low voice.

"Why?" Sasuke asked suddenly, "why would you do all of this? It makes no sense…you _willingly _follow an order to kill our entire clan, you instruct me to hate you, you fight me and give me your eyes when you won…and now you're telling me that you lived just to see me kill you."

"I'm not as brave as some people, Otouto," Itachi's voice replied, "but I had to do something so despicable, and this is the only way I knew how to make amends. That night, I was supposed to kill you. I had the choice between killing my clan and allowing Madara to destroy the rest of Konoha, and I chose to sacrifice my clan. Leaving you alive was my weakness, but it was not a mistake. However, I could not sacrifice Konoha for your sake alone, I had to do something…that would convince him…and I decided to make you hate me. Above all, it could not be seen as an act of love."

At this, Sasuke remained silent, wordlessly urging the voice to go on.

"Once you already hated me, this was the only way. I am sorry, Otouto," the voice finished.

There was silence as Sasuke considered it. He knew that it made sense. If Madara truly was alive like Kakashi had said, then…but it was still unforgivable…Sasuke reached up and clutched his head in his hands, gripping the bandages tightly. Above all, he did not know what to think. One part of him was too doused in hatred to ever think of forgiveness.

Another part simply wanted his aniki back.

They spent the rest of the visiting hours in silence, both blinded but simply content to be lost in their own thoughts. When Sakura brought Sasuke out of the cabin, he was still and silent. Naruto and Kakashi rushed to see him as Tsunade went inside to check her patient's condition. Stress could aggravate the illness, after all.

"Do you believe us now?" Naruto questioned.

Sasuke took a while to answer, "when's the soonest I can take these bandages off?"

"Six more days and no less," Sakura instructed.

"Will he be alive in six days?"

She frowned, "well, he should be. Tsunade-sama will be able to keep him alive for about another week."

"Good," Sasuke tilted his head upwards, "I'll come talk to him then. I want to try activating my Mangekyou first. Or at least…be able to see."

"We understand, Sasuke," Kakashi said softly, "Tsunade will be staying here with him, just to discuss some things and retrieve as much intel as he can tell us about Madara and the organization he's part of. I'll be coming out here too because I need to ask him some things, and you're welcome to come with me if you want to talk to your brother again. Now I think we should all be heading back. Naruto-"

"I'll go see Yamato-senpai!" Naruto declared, "and we'll be in training ground nineteen, the really large one near the edge of the village. I want to prepare for _that._"

Sakura and Sasuke considered asking, but they were too tired to try.

"Right," the jonin continued, "I'll go report in to Sandaime-sama. Sakura, your parents are worried about you, so you should probably go home. The Hokage will want to see you two eventually, but for now I'll tell him you're under shock. I'm going to leave Sasuke to you for the next few days, since he'll be unable to do anything with those bandages on, and Tsunade-san will be with Itachi. I would take him to the hospital, but I don't want people to ask too many questions, and Shizune is busy with her work."

"Yes, sensei! I will make sure that my patient has a full recovery," she nodded, pink hair shuffling out of its clip, "come on Sasuke, let's go."

"We really are going back to Konoha…" he seemed slightly unbelieving, "I suppose you were right, Sakura."

"Of course," she huffed indignantly, "it didn't go the way I thought…but those are just the smaller details."

"Everything went fine," Naruto grinned, "when you can use your eyes again, we'll all get ramen, sensei's treat!"

"Naru-kun, I hope you know that my bounty money ran out years ago…"

"You can afford it, sensei," Sakura added, "you just went on an A-rank mission."

"Would anyone be interested in lending me a shirt?" Sasuke wondered out loud, shivering slightly in the morning breeze.

ooooo

As he walked up the stairs to the Hokage's tower, Kakashi was deep in thought. He raised each foot slowly, wondering how to perform his next task.

He stopped in front of the Hokage's office door, still absently tapping his fingers over the sleeve of his blue shirt. From the corner of his eye, he saw a paper-pusher approaching, and lazily turned towards him.

"Um…are you reporting in from a mission, shinobi-san?" The man asked, "Sandaime-sama is available right now. You may enter."

Kakashi turned and continued to stare at the closed door, "I know," he muttered, "I'm trying to have a _moment_ here."

The man looked at him weirdly, and then shook his head and walked past, leaving him to glare at the door alone. What on earth was the matter? Why couldn't he just walk in and spin a tale like usual? The plan was to give Sandaime-sama the half-true version at first, and then tell him the truth later on. But there was something that bothered him. Namely, the look in Sakura's eyes when she had bit her lip and asked him if he was going to lie to the Hokage.

He had done it many times before. It was easy, because he knew that he was a loyal shinobi of Konoha and that everything he did was for the best of the village. But to be asked that to his face…Kakashi sighed and knew that this time wouldn't be easy. There was only one other choice, then. He'd have to tell him the full truth a little earlier than planned.

With that decided, he pushed open the door. Inside, the office was as tidy as he remembered. The desk by the far wall which sat in front of the large, panoramic windows. The shelves that lined the walls, leading to the current Hokage's moniker of 'the Professor'. It was all so purely _Konoha_.

Sarutobi Hiruzen lifted his head upon his entrance. He had a pen in one hand and was perusing files with the other, dutifully going over the civilian establishment complaints. Kakashi briefly imagined Tsunade sitting in his position, with her typical bored look, and almost laughed. She'd certainly be an original Hokage…

"Ah, Kakashi-san," the Sandaime smiled, "please come in, Shizune-san and Yamato-san said you'd be coming over shortly. Congratulations on your successful mission. I must ask to speak with young Sasuke later on but I understand that he may want some time to himself, and there is no need to hurry," he placed the pen away and put his chin in his hands, "may I ask where your standard flak jacket is?" He looked across at the blue shirt and the lack of the green on top.

"Mou…Sasuke-kun's clothing was…compromised during his fight," Kakashi explained sheepishly, "I wasn't cruel enough to allow Sakura to drag him through the streets of Konoha half-naked."

"Ah," the Hokage smiled in amusement, "it is good for a teacher to be considerate. Go on with your report."

Kakashi shuffled a little and reached up to stretch his head and look away, "there's something that you must know, Sandaime-sama."

At the deep tone of his voice, the Hokage frowned, "go on."

"Well, I must ask if I can call some people here to aid in my explanation," Kakashi told him, "this is…an important issue."

"Who would you like to call?" He peered out from under the wide-brim of the hat.

"I need Shizune, Tenzou, and Naruto," Kakashi told him. It would be easier to believe if Shizune confirmed the others who knew, and she and Tenzou had been with them during Itachi's capture. Naruto would be able to help by demonstrating his control of the Kyuubi. Kakashi had no doubt that if he began without them, he would soon find himself in the T&I division.

"Shizune will be in the hospital right now," he went on, "and Tenzou – Yamato – and Naruto will be in training ground nineteen."

The Sandaime made an effortless wave of his hand, and there was a flash of black near the window where the anbu Fly had gone to retrieve them. When he turned back, the lines of his face were slightly deeper.

"What is this about?" He asked, "the events regarding you have become rather…strange ever since the chunin exam invasion a few years ago, but I've left things to you because you have shown positive results."

"That is what I am here to explain, Sandaime-sama," Kakashi told him, "but it is not easy to believe. That is why I have called for Shizune and Tenzou and Naruto. They will be able to explain the proof to you."

"Not…easy to believe?" The frown became more prominent, "I have seen many strange things in my life, Kakashi-san."

"This may challenge them all," Kakashi replied seriously, "it took me quite a while as well. I must also ask that no one overhears us."

"Indeed, my office is safe from prying ears," the Hokage nodded.

"Not only from prying ears…" the masked jonin trailed, wondering if maybe this would sound too suspicious, "from…the three other pairs of ears in this room."

At that, the Hokage raised an eyebrow. Asking someone of his standing to rid himself of his exterior defenses was uncommon. The anbu chosen to protect the Kage were sworn to secrecy and would slit their own throats on command, these ones were as part of the Hokage as his hat and cloak. "Is it truly so secret? I'm not sure if you know, Kakashi-san, but the Kage of a Hidden Village must never be away from the presence of his guards. In the case of…regrettable events, someone must be there to explain what happened in the last moments," he said carefully.

"The less people know about this, the better," Kakashi tried. However, he realized that Naruto had made the decision to give up on their future knowledge, and sighed. "If Hokage-sama wishes to have a person in the room, he must be utterly loyal to you only. Not even to the other members of the esteemed council."

Before he could say any further, the door to the office opened again, and the three figures he had called for stepped in. Shizune and Yamato were looking on worriedly, probably wondering if they were in trouble. Naruto took one look at his sensei's revealed eye and understood what was happening.

"Now, sensei?" The blond boy asked, hands clasped casually behind his head as the door closed behind him, "I though we were gonna tell him after…the week was over?"

"Well, I'd rather reveal the truth now," Kakashi admitted, turning back to the figure behind the desk, "would you consider sending at least two of them away, Hokage-sama?"

Seeing the exchange, Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded slowly. Despite the fact that there were four capable people in the room, his title as the God of Shinobi was not without merit. He turned towards the shelves, "Badger, Raccoon, leave with Fly."

Three flashes of black indicated their absence, leaving one behind. Kakashi was fine with that. One extra pair of ears would not do too much damage.

"Now, what do you all have to explain to me?"

Yamato and Shizune turned to look expectantly at Kakashi, wondering exactly how much they were expected to reveal.

"We're telling Sandaime-jiji about the trigger," Naruto informed them, "we don't need to depend on our knowledge anymore."

"Is that wise, Naruto-kun?" Shizune questioned, "when you first approached Tsunade-sama and me, you made it seem like it was important for it to remain a secret."

"That's because the knowledge gave us an advantage," Kakashi told her, "but it also gives us many drawbacks, and it's not worth it."

"Are any of you going to explain?" The Sandaime wondered, glancing to each of them in turn, "Katou Shizune, you came back to the village a while ago to seek out Kakashi-san. I know that much from my jonin overseer, who heard it from Gai-san," he turned to Yamato, "former operative Cat, you left the anbu rather suddenly, didn't you?" Finally, he turned to the blond boy, "Naruto, you have made wonderful progress as a shinobi, but I suppose there are some interesting things about you that do not match up. It is a shinobi's job to keep secrets, and so I do not intrude into these things, but now that you have brought this 'secret' to my attention, I have to admit that I am curious."

"I have memories from the future," Naruto said happily. He could not deny that there was a deep feeling of relief in being able to finally tell his grand-father figure the secret that they had kept for so long. As much as he acknowledged Kakashi's fabrication skills, it was discomforting to lie.

"I'm sure," the Sandaime said wryly. He turned back to Kakashi, "go on then, Kakashi-san."

"Well, Naruto-kun just told you some of it," he began, "but I suppose I'll start with the jutsu that caused all of this." He walked closer to the desk, "Sandaime-sama, how familiar are you with space-time jutsu?"

ooooo

"Couldn't we go to my apartment first?" Sasuke grumbled, one hand grasping Sakura's cotton arm guards, "I need to find my own clothing, you know. Kakashi-senpai is three sizes larger than me."

"I have standard hospital clothing in my medical kit," Sakura explained, "if you want, you can wear those."

"I'd rather not," he muttered, "those bed-sheets look ridiculous. But this flak jacket was _not _meant to be worn on top of skin…"

The streets of Konoha's civilian residential area were mostly empty, considering that it was noon of a Sunday. They were at home relaxing, and the only people outside were the occasional kid or old man who'd come out to check their mail or water their garden. Compared to the more compacted apartment compounds that Konoha's shinobi lived in, the houses here were modest but friendly, exhibiting the typical family life that a shinobi signed away when they first received their hitai-ite.

Some people looked strangely at the pink haired girl who looked like she really needed a bath, and the boy with cloth tied around his eyes, wearing only a flak jacket and a pair of pants that had rightfully been thought too much trouble. Sakura gave them cheerful waves.

They stopped in front of the door of another house down the row which looked comfortably similar to the others, and Sasuke almost banged his foot on the steps when Sakura failed to give him warning. She reached up and knocked on the door three times.

It was opened before she could reach the fourth, and a startled looking blond woman in a long white cheongsam was looking out at them.

"Sakura!" She yelled, "we completely understand that you are a shinobi now, but it would be nice if we at least knew where our daughter was!" She had both hands on her hips.

"Sorry, oka-san," Sakura said sheepishly, "I had to stay out to heal my teammate here. He was badly injured."

The woman took one look at Sasuke's bandages eyes and the dried blood still visible in some places, and sighed, "well, he does look beaten down…"

Sasuke gritted his teeth and barely held himself back from retorting that he had just come back from a _battle of epic proportions. _

Haruno Mebuki turned back to her daughter, "your father and I have decided that we're being far too lenient with you, if you're just going to leave us that worried. Not just one night but _two and a half_? From now on, you have to leave us notes so we at least know where you are…"

Sakura winced, not knowing whether to feel annoyed or happy.

"Does this person need any more treatment?" She gestured roughly to Sasuke, "or can you come back now?"

"Actually, Sasuke won't be able to see for another few days," she explained, "so I'm going to be his place. I came back because Kakashi-sensei said you were worried and wanted to know where I was."

"Well yes," the older woman responded gruffly, "at least your shinobi sensei seems somewhat responsible."

"Anyway," Sakura continued, "I'll be back for dinner. Bye, oka-san!"

On the way back, Sasuke coughed slightly and rubbed his arm with one hand, wincing at the remnants of blood, "couldn't you have at least asked her for lunch while we were there, since you say it's so much better than my rice seasoning?"

"You won't be able to eat anything but hospital food for the next few days," Sakura retorted, "no one can use chopsticks while blind." The noon sun beat down on them and nearby children shot them more curious looks, but she had the largest grin plastered on her face, and she was happy that Sasuke couldn't see it because it just wouldn't go away.

"Well, was it really necessary to risk me stumbling into a tree just to speak to your mother for _five minutes_?" He went on, "you could have sent a letter in the time it took for us to walk across half the village!"

"I had to go myself," she told him, "they've never really been that…worried about me before," she looked up thoughtfully, "it's probably because Saki-chan has started her tutoring sessions and they could be bored or lonely, but…it's nice."

ooooo

After an hour of listening to Hatake Kakashi's explanation, Sarutobi Hiruzen's only reaction was a raised eyebrow.

"Sandaime-jiji doesn't believe us," Naruto announced, "that's his 'I don't know what to do with you' look."

"You would know that…" Kakashi muttered.

"Time jutsu," the Hokage began, "does exist. Yondaime used it as part of his Hiraishin, and I am familiar with it. Something like _this, _however, is not simply travelling back in time for a few milliseconds. It is erasing the world and resetting it. The sheer amount of complexity involved would be ridiculous. Even telling me that Madara is alive pales in comparison."

"Hokage-sama," Kakashi began, "why would we be telling you all of this if it were false? You mentioned that you have noticed certain strange things, this answers them."

"Kurama says the seal is from the Gedo Mazo, the body of the Jyubi," Naruto offered, "it's complicated because it was made by the Rikudo Sennin."

"Naruto," the Sandaime sighed and peered out at the boy from under the brim of his hat, "so far, you and Kakashi-san have told me that due to the destruction of the _Rinnegan, Uchiha Madara_ used some sort of time seal to reset the world a few years. Now, you and the other _Jinchuuriki_ are the only ones who remember this supposed future due to your bijuu, and you have to somehow extract the Rinnegan _wielder_ – who is also the _leader of Ame_ – from Madara's hands. Did I understand that?"

"Yeah!"

"Then you can understand that it's hard to believe," the Hokage told him sternly, "introducing the Rikudo Sennin himself is not making it any easier."

"We have proof, Sandaime-sama," Shizune spoke up, "the other Jinchuuriki are still there."

"Oh? And where are they?"

"We suspect that the ones that are still alive are all with us," Kakashi confirmed, "the former Ichibi is Gaara, the boy who helped during the chunin exams. He is currently in Suna. Nibi, Rokubi, and Hachibi are all in Kumo. The Rokubi and Hachibi aided me in taking down the Shodai's reanimation when he became too strong."

Sarutobi Hiruzen narrowed his eyes, "and you say that Jiraiya believes you?"

"We've given him more than enough proof," the masked jonin nodded.

"Fine. I will call him here," the old man suddenly seemed to lose a few of his wrinkles, "once I speak with him and Tsunade, I will return to what you have told me. Until then, I ask that none of you leave the village."

Kakashi inwardly winced, knowing that he would have to disobey the orders to see Itachi.

"Fine," he agreed, "we will send word to Jiraiya-san and ask him to come back. He is currently keeping up with his spy network, but…I don't think we'll be in great need of the information right now."

"Good," Naruto grinned, "now Kashi-sensei and Yamato-senpai can come with me. I need some extra training!"

ooooo

Two hours later, former anbu operative Tenzou was performing one of the most difficult missions he'd ever been dealt. He held one palm in front of him, clasping the wrist with his other hand. His eyes were closed in concentration as he sat cross legged between nine towers of wood.

Directly in front of him sat Uzumaki Naruto, who was currently emanating bubbles of red chakra.

_Ow! _Naruto mentally complained, _that hurts, Kurama!_

_This is the only way, _the fox grumbled, _it won't happen if you just let me take over. That person had keyed it to the spontaneous release. You will have to bear the pain. _

_I'll take anything-ow! _Naruto bit his lip, and his teeth drew blood as every tenketsu point felt like it was being set on fire. Slowly, the bubbles of malevolent orange chakra became tinged with black.

_You've been through this before, _Kurama pointed out, _you can do it again. _

_I wasn't exactly feeling any pain at that time, _Naruto retorted, _I was too busy feeling anger and killing intent. Pain wasn't the first thing I was focusing on. _He giggled when he noticed his unconscious pun.

_Be quiet, brat, _Kurama spoke up, _I'm going to begin what you call the Version One transformation. _

Naruto frowned and stilled, all amusement melting away when he felt the first rush. It was as if his body was being ripped apart. He had to grit his teeth and resist the urge to fight back as the malevolent chakra flooded him, ripping out of his skin. It wasn't like his Bijuu Mode, where he allowed Kurama to put in just as much chakra as his tenketsu could handle. No, this time the fox was attempting to force its release, the same way he had done during his battle with Pein.

"Tenzou, six tails," Kakashi called out, noting the orange and black appendages that rose from Naruto's back.

"Yes, senpai!" Yamato's hand was clammy, but he kept a firm grip on his wrist.

_You are resisting, _Kurama growled, _it won't happen unless you stop defending yourself with your chakra. If you keep doing this, I will be forced to try and destroy all your chakra, and that will permanently damage your tenketsu points._

_I'm sorry! _Naruto tried as best as he could to lock away all his own chakra, _it's a natural defense mechanism! I'll try to resist it…_

Kurama simply continued to push more chakra through. He stood tall in his cage, fully energized as his Jinchuuriki suffered through the pain of a Version One release. It took years to master this amount of chakra, and now it was all flowing out at once.

"Version…One…Release!" Naruto managed to splutter between gritted teeth.

_What are you doing, brat? There's no need for that, you're simply wasting energy._

_Attacks always sound cool when you say their name first, _Naruto told him sagely. The Kyuubi, failing to understand his logic, continued with his task.

"Seven tails," Kakashi's voice was beginning to exude worry, seeing Naruto in so much pain.

"Understood, senpai," the sweat ran down Yamato's forehead in beads as the black symbol grew darker on his hand. He could feel that the Kyuubi was holding back on purpose, or he would have collapsed by now. It made the situation seem even more surreal.

_This should be the last one needed, _Kurama told the small blond boy curled up on the floor in front of the cage, _are you prepared?_

Naruto craned his head up from the floor, slowly grinning at the giant fox, _if Yamato-senpai accidently loses control, will you promise not to destroy any villages?_

_If that does happen, I'll deplete as much as my chakra as I can until you can regain control, _Kurama explained, _but the mokuton user is doing well. It is not easy to control this level of pressure. _

Naruto put one hand below him, slowly unfurling from his fetal position. He was now fully inside the Kyuubi's mind dimension. Below him was the water of the sewer, although it wasn't real, and didn't wet his clothes. The stone walls on either side led down to the large prison where the Kyuubi resided. He pushed himself up to his elbows and clasped the bars of the cage, "I haven't been here for a while, have I?"

"No, you have not," the demon fox answered smoothly, "talking to you on a weekly basis is enough. There's no need for me to suffer your physical presence as well."

"You know, Gaara told me that he could enter Shukaku's dimension at will," he continued, "I guess it's because his seal wasn't as good as mine, and he had to go there to keep putting up defenses," he heaved on the bars and managed to get to his knees, "I want to…face him while standing."

"You've stopped feeling the pain?" Kurama questioned.

"Yeah," Naruto grinned, realizing that he could stand again without feeling the fire in his tenketsu, "my mind has detached itself, you're now in full control of my physical body so I don't feel any of its pain," he frowned, "although there'll be hell to pay when this is over…I'm just going to knock myself out and hope I wake up when I'm not hurting anymore."

"That seems wise," the fox commented, "although you were able to ignore it the first time. Are you prepared? The eighth tail is now protruding from your physical form, I'm going to cut off the chakra flow."

"You do that," Naruto nodded, "I don't think Yamato-senpai could hold down the ninth tail even with us helping him." The rest of the pain became mere tingles as he solidified completely inside the dimension within in mind.

Bursts of excitement buzzed through him at the possibility of what he was about to do, and a stupid grin was plastered over his face. This time, he wouldn't punch the man, he'd hug the very soul out of him. And the things he needed to _say…_he would last much longer now that he didn't need to use the rest of his chakra to reinforce the seal.

Naruto felt the tell-tale surges of chakra as the air in front of him began to shake, allowing the new chakra to flood within. His feet were the first things that were visible, and then the cloud cleared slowly, revealing the bottoms of a white cloak. It went up further to lean hands and loosely held fingers, and all the way up to the tips of blond hair.

Namikaze Minato blinked in confusion as he looked from the grinning blond boy in front of him to the demon fox watching silently from its cage.

**ooooo**

**So many have been asking if Sakura could implant Sasuke's eyes in Itachi. However, the Mangekyou curse does not stop with the actual eyes itself, the user loses their sight. That's why Madara and Izuna couldn't just trade eyes; the Eternal Mangekyou is kind of like the powers of two blood-related Mangekyou combined into one.**


	32. Namikaze Minato

**Anyway, here's the last chapter of this arc. Feedback is greatly appreciated, so leave a review ^^!**

**Chapter 32 – Namikaze Minato**

Looking at his father's face – with it's yellow hair and blue eyes and rather confused look – was everything Naruto thought it would be. Jiraiya had described him many times, but none of them matched the joy of actually seeing him. Namikaze Minato was the most beautiful and wonderful person he had ever laid eyes on. The Kyuubi watched amusedly as he leapt towards the man.

"Otou-san!" He threw his arms around the chakra-entity and reveled in how _solid _and _there _he was.

Minato blinked again, and then smiled at the yellow head right under his chin. His arms came up around the boy, almost tentatively.

"I didn't expect such a warm welcome," he said softly, feeling the hard back muscles of the lean form his son had grown into, "but I suppose I can't complain," he reached on arm up to gently ruffle the yellow hair.

"I punched you the first time around," Naruto mumbled into his shirt, "so I thought I'd be nice this time."

Namikaze Minato raised an eyebrow, "I don't remember being punched by you, Naruto," he drew the boy away to arms length and looked him over, eyes shining in delight, "so this is my son...you've certainly grown up well. You'll be a right clone of me in a few years."

"And then I'm going to be the Rokudaime Hokage!" Naruto declared, looking excitedly at his father.

The Yellow Flash gave him an amused look, "hmm, you're your mother's son, though. That's good, as much as I like seeing the dashing Namikaze genes in you, Kushina would have died your hair red to make up for it," the amusement melted away slowly as he turned to look at the Kyuubi, "but it seems that you've somehow loosened the seal…I think I can reinforce-"

"No!" Naruto interrupted, "I did it on purpose so that I could see you!"

"That is dangerous!" Minato's eyebrows knitted in worry, "your body could succumb to its chakra." He heard a low growl and turned sharply to narrow his eyes at the demon fox inside the cage.

_I'm right here, fuuin master, _Kurama growled, _I helped your offspring do this. _He was sitting at the very front of his cage, with his nose mere inches behind the bars while his head rested on his paws. Curious eyes looked out at the two humans.

"Yeah," Naruto nodded happily, "Kurama's holding back so that my body doesn't fry completely, and I've got someone who can use the mokuton to restrain me. Kurama and I have…um…'reached an understanding'."

"So…the Kyuubi cooperates with its Jinchuuriki," the look on his face became pensive, "how can you know for sure? I have heard of bijuu that were not malicious, but the Kyuubi was never one of them."

_I did not _want _to cooperate, _Kurama growled again.

"You're not making this easy for me," Naruto told the beast, "and you _do _want to cooperate now, because we're friends."

"Friends?..." Minato wondered.

"Well," Naruto bit his lip, "it's a really long story, and I don't want to waste time by telling you everything, so I'll give you the short version," he began. "A long while ago, I was fighting someone _really _powerful. Another student of Ero-Sennin," he paused to listen to the sweet sound of Minato's laugh upon matching the nickname with his old sensei, "he had this legendary doujutsu called the Rinnegan, and I managed to convince him to stop fighting because true peace was really possible."

"I'm slightly worried that you claim to have fought someone so powerful 'a while ago', since you already look so young, but it's nice to know that you've inherited the almighty powers of Kushina Therapy."

"Except, he had to die to perform one last jutsu that would bring the people he had killed back to life," Naruto went on, "and he knew that his doujutsu would be taken after his death, so he destroyed his eyes."

"This 'Rinnegan'?"

"Yeah. Except, there was someone who really wanted those eyes, and he was angry that they were gone," he continued, "so he used one of the Rikudo Sennin's time seals to reset the world to go back six years, and keep repeating those years until something new happened that caused the Rinnegan eyes to be saved," Naruto finished. He was slightly worried about being seen as a nutjob by his own father, but they had precious little time together and he didn't want to waste it by explaining everything in detail.

_As a creature of chakra, I am able to remember the lost future, _Kurama spoke up, _and so does this boy, since he is connected to me. In order to preserve as much of the world as possible, we must keep the Rinnegan eyes safe. _

Minato was silent for a long moment, a contemplating look in his eyes. Finally, he turned back to his son, "a time seal…yes, that would be incredibly complex but I could see the general theory behind it. How I would love to simply lay eyes on something of that level…so you say that sometime in this future, you've already met me?"

Naruto looked slightly taken aback, "you…believe me?" His father hadn't spoke with the same look that the Sandaime usually gave him, the 'I don't believe you but I'll humor you look'. This was an actual 'I believe you and this is interesting' look.

"Of course. I wouldn't doubt my own son," Minato gave him a kind smile, "and the seal is incredibly weak at the moment. If Kyuubi wanted to break out, he could do so right now. That fact that he isn't lends some truth to your explanation, along with the fact that he agrees with you."

"Thanks, otou-san! Even Sandaime-jiji doesn't really believe us…but we'll get him around soon," Naruto grinned, "I met you after losing control during the fight with Nagato, the Rinnegan user. At the time I was just angry with you…"

Minato tilted his head to one side, slightly worried.

"…but I understand now. You did the best thing you could do, and I'm proud to be the son of a hero!" The blond boy grasped onto the hand which was still on his arm, "thank you for sealing Kurama inside me, otou-san. I don't think anyone else would have been able to get sense into him, Naruto Therapy was the only way."

The former Yondaime Hokage laughed again, and it was like hearing chimes within the dimension in his mind. A beautiful sound. "Well," he turned back, "if there really is nothing to worry about, then I can use this time to learn all about my son. Where did you live, who were your friends, who is your sensei, what's your favorite food-"

"Ramen!" Naruto went ahead and answered, "and if I tell you about me, then you have to tell me all about you, too."

"Hm, of course," Minato's expression was filled with joy as he moved his hand to Naruto's cheek, simply reveling in the fact that this was his _son. _In his time, he had longed for a child. The final decision had been Kushina due to the issue of the Kyuubi, and even she had given in to her inner desire to spoil children."You have to go first, though."

"Sure! Let's see…I go by Uzumaki Naruto because Sandaime-jiji didn't want people to target me. I grew up mostly by myself, because Ero-Sennin had to keep tabs on Orochi-teme and other missing-nin. But Sandaime-jiji visited me, so it wasn't that lonely," Naruto wasn't about to give his father a sob story. He wanted to tell him the good parts, "and then I started the academy, and I was the best prankster they ever had!"

"That is precious!" Minato grinned, "your mother was the same!"

"It's the Uzumaki genes," Naruto said proudly, "Ero-Sennin says that it comes with the long lifespan! Which is awesome, because I can be Hokage even when I'm old and grey! When I left the academy I was a genin under Kakashi-sensei. He was the first one I told about the time seal, and he helped me put together all our plans because he's really smart."

"So Kakashi-kun is your jonin-sensei?" The Yellow Flash raised an eyebrow, "how is he doing these days?"

"He's still late to everywhere, but he's happy now," Naruto told him seriously, "he was really hurt after losing you and Rin and Obito, sensei, but now he has me and Sakura and Sasuke to spend time with, and Bushier-Brow Gai-sensei isn't going to leave him alone even if he begs!"

"I remember that boy!" Minato tapped a finger against his chin, "the-"

"Green tights!" They both said at the same time, smiling.

"It's nice to know that he's moved on," his father told him softly, "but…if he's happy now, then why did you say you lived alone when you were young?"

Naruto sobered slightly, "well he wasn't always...ok. He never told me exactly why he didn't visit me, but I already know and I don't blame him. He tried to immerse himself in the anbu because he didn't know what to do without his team, but me and Sasuke and Sakura got him back in shape! And he asked me to live with him as soon as I became his student. I think it was because my place was so messy…" he finished sheepishly.

"He's a strong one," Minato agreed, "tell him that for me. And tell him that I don't care how many mistakes he's made, because among all the misfortune that falls his way, he's played a part in making my son the person he is, and I could not be prouder."

"I will, otou-san!" The words felt amazing to say.

"Now go on, I want to hear more about you," the former Yondaime continued, "who are your friends? Kushina really wanted you to have friends that you could trust, you know. She found hers later than most, but she told me that it was the best feeling in the world, to know that there was someone who you could always depend on."

Naruto nodded, "you probably know my teammate Sasuke's father. His name was…Uchiha Fugaku, I think."

"Yes, Mikoto's husband," Yondaime nodded sagely, "Kushina called him Fugu-fish."

Naruto thought of telling him about the massacre, but decided that this precious time was meant for other things, "Sasuke was my very first friend. He can be a real bastard, but deep down he's a good person too. And my other teammate Sakura's family is civilian, but she's worked really hard to become the first kunoichi of her name. She's a great friend, and she's also really pretty," he added.

"Eighteen. Try to respect your father's wishes," Minato said mock-seriously, "but you've made wonderful friends. I'm glad. Are you a chunin now?"

"Yeah, but I can beat most jonin," Naruto boasted, "I just didn't have a chance to be considered for promotion because I was out training with Ero-Sennin."

"I hope he hasn't rubbed off on you too much," his father raised an eyebrow, "he wasn't exactly discreet with me when I was on his team…"

"I know," the blond boy nodded, "he told me that he'd ask you to pretend to be a girl to steal underwear from the women's baths for him."

"The things I had to do to get that toad contract…" Minato muttered, running his fingers through his hair.

"But he's awesome, otou-san! His book is my favorite!" Naruto practically jumped. Faced with the man in front of him, he felt for once like a normal kid.

"That's…not something to be proud of…"

"Not Icha Icha! Tales of a Gutsy Ninja, the book you named me from!"

_Humans, _Kurama began. He had been sitting quietly and watching the show in front of his cage. _Half your time is over. The one on the surface is starting to run out of chakra as well._

Naruto frowned, a sense of dread rising as he realized that they only had a few minutes left, only slightly longer than the last time. He turned back to see his father looking at Kurama thoughtfully.

"Naruto," he said in a slightly more serious voice, "there's something I have to tell you before I leave. That night…I fought a man in an orange mask. I think he was the one who summoned the Kyuubi from Kushina. You must beware of him."

"Yes," the boy nodded, "I know him. That person is Uchiha Madara, and he's the one who activated the time seal."

_The boy is correct, _Kurama confirmed, _Madara was the only one able to summon me, and the only one who has the power to be able to activate this seal. _

Minato's eyes widened. It was strange to see a figure of power who also had such an expressive face. "Then you are in danger!"

"Don't worry, otou-san," Naruto said firmly, "we're going to bring him down. Me and Kakashi-sensei and Ero-Sennin and Tsunade baa-chan and everyone else who knows about the seal. You don't need to worry about me."

"No, I suppose not. You are _our _son, after all," the former Yondaime sighed.

"And look," Naruto put one hand out and began to concentrate his chakra into it, "Rasengan! I learned in a week!" He watched as the blue ball of chakra began to spin in his hand.

Minato's eyes widened when he saw the completed Rasengan in his son's hand, "you…finished it! This is amazing!"

"And I've added my wind nature to it too," he went on, "but I have to do that in sage mode because otherwise it's a kinjutsu."

"Rasengan and sage mode at fifteen? I'm feeling rather inadequate…"

"I'm still not as fast as you, otou-san," Naruto reminded him, "but I do plan to beat your record for youngest Hokage."

_You two are running out of time, _Kurama spoke up again.

The two blond shinobi looked at each other and felt a slight sadness rise. Between sealing the Kyuubi and sacrificing his soul to the Death God, Minato could only spare tendrils of chakra, enough to reseal the beast in case it was released, and catch a glimpse of his precious son. But this was more than he could have ever asked for. The hand brushed against Naruto's cheek again, tracing the whiskers that came from sharing his mother with the demon fox.

"I told you about me," Naruto choked out, "now you have to tell me about you, otou-san," he wanted to be able to say that word over and over again, but he knew that he could only use it for another few minutes at most.

"Well, I'm not inherently interesting," Minato chuckled, "your grandfather was a civilian and your grandmother was a Konoha chunin who retired to settle down with her family, and I was quite average before entering the academy. I took her last name 'Namikaze', so I suppose that's something we have in common."

"If you like, I'll add it when I'm able to tell everyone," Naruto offered, "I'll be Uzumaki Namikaze Naruto."

"Well that certainly is a mouthful, but you can do as you like. I think the Uzumaki name has more of a history behind it, so it would be nice if you didn't leave it. 'Uzumaki Naruto' sounds fierce," he said cheekily, "you've probably been told about me during the war…"

"I pestered Ero-Sennin and didn't stop until he explained everything!"

"…so I'll tell you what happened after I came back," Minato smiled, "when I returned from the front lines against Iwa, Konoha was victorious against the second front near Kiri. But I didn't care much about the war, because a certain brutal little girl that I liked had returned the previous month," his eyes were filled with happiness, "the Kiri nin knew her as the Demon of Mercy, because she turned their front without killing a single person."

"Oka-san?" Naruto's eyes widened. His mother had tried not to kill? How was that even possible for a shinobi? Instead of being confused, he felt a sort of respect.

"Yes, she was merciful even to the enemy, but feared for that exact reason. And then I took in Kakashi-kun after he returned from Iwa with news of Rin…" his eyes became slightly distant, and then snapped back into focus, "I lived with him for a few months while I figured out exactly how I was going to propose to your stubborn mother."

"You didn't know how?" Naruto asked cheekily.

"No! Before I left for the war, I had been her only friend and the only person she was willing to spend time with without hitting. But when I came back," he shook his head and grinned, "she had so many! I had to compete with Mikoto-chan and Asuma-san and Ai-san and dozens of others who had finally realized how amazing she was."

"What happened?" It was funny, seeing that his father was only around seven years older than him. He wasn't exactly very fatherly, but that was alright. Not everyone was able to see their grown child mere minutes after he was born.

"I asked her the day I became Hokage, and Jiraiya-sensei thought it would be funny to dare Kakashi-kun to steal the ring and the flowers…but it was worth it. After all, you're here," he traced the whisker marks again, "many people think that the Hokage isn't a good position to be in. And maybe it isn't, because there is incredible responsibility. But if you can keep up, it's amazing to know that you have the trust and recognition of thousands. I loved every moment of it, paperwork and all. Your mother's wanted to become a Hokage as well. She wasn't allowed due to her Jinchuuriki issue, but I had lots of help and encouragement from her. Good luck, Naruto, it is a worthy goal."

Naruto tried to exude as much determination as he could, "I'll become the Hokage, otou-san, believe it!"

_It's draining, _the fox spoke once more, _the foreign chakra in the seal is almost gone_. Naruto began to realize that the hand against his cheek wasn't entirely solid. It was…wavering, like that of a clone about to vanish. He held his breath and looked up, startled when he saw the faint lines of the cage through his father's form.

"I'm not sure if you know," Minato continued as the translucency increased, "but Kushina's chakra is in you as well. I wanted…to seal her with me, so that we'd be able to talk to you together, but she knew that it was better to separate us down the seal in case it ever opened further."

"I've met her too," Naruto nodded, "oka-san had the most beautiful hair I've ever seen. She told me…" his throat hitched momentarily, but he didn't show any tears. There was no way he was going to seem the least bit weak in front of the man he idolized. Not in these last few seconds.

"I've heard the words she would have told you," Namikaze Minato said softly. He leaned forward to press his lips against his son's forehead, "and I say the same to the person who compliments my beautiful wife's hair. 'I love you', Naruto."

ooooo

Outside, Yamato heaved a sigh of relief when he saw the malicious chakra slowly collapsing back into Naruto's body. His hand came down, the symbol of eight fading away.

"Overworked, Tenzou-kun?" Kakashi called, standing guard outside the wooden barrier.

"No more than usual, senpai," the mokuton user told him gruffly. He reached up to remove the hitai-ite and wipe the sweat off his forehead, "Naruto really stressed himself out trying to prolong it, though. When the Kyuubi withdrew its chakra, there was very little left. He's going to be sleeping for at least a few hours."

"And there I thought he'd never learn the meaning of chakra exhaustion," the masked jonin said lightly, "your apartment room seems somewhat close to mine, you can carry him back."

"Am I even allowed to protest?" Yamato deadpanned, allowing his senpai to see the shine of sweat all over him.

"You signed up for minionhood, you deal with the consequences," Kakashi watched, amused, as his subordinate slung the blond boy over his shoulder, "be careful with Naru-kun, he'll get a cramp when he wakes if you carry him like that…"

ooooo

The rest of the day passed by surprisingly smoothly. Sasuke and Sakura saw the anbu that had been sent to trail them, but they pretended not to notice. The Uchiha boy remained in his room, meditating for lack of anything else to do, while Sakura went home and detailed some of her less-dangerous missions to her parents. Shizune and Kakashi went out to dinner with Team Gai, who had just come back from their mission. Naruto slumbered away in his bed, and Tsunade and Itachi remained outside of the village. They had sent word to Jiraiya asking him to return, but he was far off in Iwa and needed a few days to travel back.

And so, while Kakashi sat in Yakiniku-Q pretending to be amused at Gai's eating challenges while Shizune kept him carefully away from sharp objects, Kakashi was sneaking out of the village through the anbu exits, he had not been the Legendary Hound for nothing. There would be mental hell to pay when he dispelled the clone and overloaded his brain, but it was a necessary sacrifice. He wasn't Naruto, after all.

"Is he awake?"

"He hasn't fallen asleep yet," Tsunade muttered, leaning on the entrance wall of the small shed, "I told him that he would last longer if he slept, but he can't seem to fall asleep."

"Well, I suppose that I can at least speak to him now," Kakashi said quietly, "but if you don't mind, I'd like it to be private."

"Sure," the slug sannin gave him a brief, curious look, but moved out to stand guard outside while he slipped in.

Itachi was still leaning against the far wall, legs crossed in front of him with his hands on either knee.

"Kakashi," he greeted. The jonin already knew how he had known his name. The footsteps of an anbu were recognizable _in that they were unrecognizable. _

He sat down opposite to him, wondering how to begin.

"Itachi," Kakashi began, "Sasuke wants to see you once he takes his bandages off and confirms that he had received the Mangekyou."

"Tsunade-sama believes I will stay alive until then," Itachi nodded, "I do not wish to speak to him, but if it is his wish, I will not deny him"

Kakashi decided to be forward. "I came to ask about that day you put me under the genjutsu."

"Of course," came the simply reply.

"That bird…at first I thought that it had been an illusion as well, but you mentioned it by name. Yatagarasu. That means that it was real, wasn't it?"

"It is real in a way. The crow does not physically reside in your stomach, and yet it does," Itachi confirmed.

"Why did you put it there?" He looked down at his hands, "I feel no different, and you say you've given something to me."

"It will only work when you fight Madara," Itachi said softly, "and after everything is over, you must destroy Yatagarasu."

"Listen, I know that you put it inside me because Utakata named me as our leader, but I'm not," he went on, "we do not have an official leader, and even if we did, it wouldn't be me. Maybe Tsunade or Jiraiya or Gaara, but definitely not me."

"And yet I have given it to the right person," Itachi wondered softly.

Kakashi considered asking further, but there was something else that was on his mind, and it felt more urgent.

"Why did you ask me about Obito?" He went on, "what does Obito have to do with any of this? You probably didn't even know him."

"I knew him," the older Uchiha replied, "not well, but I remember that saw his face once, somewhere in the compound." In the eyes of someone like Weasel, who never forgot a face, those words held meaning.

"Listen, Itachi," Kakashi sighed, "do I have to drag the information out of you like this? Can't you just tell me? I know that you're against Madara's plans, and that you're a pacifist. Will you not help us out of your own will?"

"Hatake Kakashi…do you understand that sometimes, knowledge can stand in your way instead of pushing you forwards?" He asked softly.

"I…don't know," the masked jonin admitted, "you would think that was true, but I don't like the idea that any type of knowledge could ever be bad to have. In the eyes of a strategist, knowledge is always precious."

"Trust me when I say that the knowledge you ask for _will _stand in your way. Maybe one day, when it is all over and when peace has been realized, you can figure out the truth for yourself and slowly recover. But for now, please do not seek any further. Just know that you must be the one to fight him," the soft voice finished.

Itachi didn't speak any more no matter what Kakashi asked. Finally, he gave up and exited the shed, feeling slightly uneasy.

ooooo

It took two days for Jiraiya to arrive back in Konoha – about the same amount of time as it took for Kakashi to recover from his mental overload – and he was immediately dragged to the Hokage's office and thrown in. Naruto and his sensei then waited breathlessly outside while he conversed with the Sandaime.

It took an hour before they were allowed in. The Sandaime was sitting at his desk as usual, the large brim of his hat covering his eyes. In front of him was Jiraiya, who had spread out various scrolls on his table.

Naruto and Kakashi went over to stand by the toad sage as the door was closed behind them.

"So?" The blond boy began, "do you believe us now?"

The Sandaime sighed, "Jiraiya has been telling me about all the information you apparently predicted correctly. At this point, it's either your ridiculous time travel story, or me assuming that you are making this up with all its details simply to take over Ame, and the latter seems more like evidence of my growing senility than anything."

"Right," Kakashi agreed, "we know that you cannot help us due to your position, but we needed to tell you because I was running out of stories to make up."

"You'll never run out of stories," the Sandaime said sagely, "so? What are your plans? What is this invasion you all speak of? Who else knows about this apart from Shizune, Yamato, and the people currently here?"

"I'll begin with the people who know," Jiraiya started, "the first thing we did was contact all the Jinchuuriki that we were aware of, and they all agreed to help us. So we have Gaara, former Jinchuuriki of the Ichibi, Nii Yugito who holds the Nibi, Utakata of Kiri who holds the Rokubi, and Killer B of Kumo, who holds the Hachibi. Out of them, Gaara is currently in Suna, and the others are training in Kumo."

"_Former _Jinchuuriki?" the Sandaime raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, he was the second person apart from Kushina to ever survive an extraction. He was only able to heal due to Tsunade-hime's intervention," Jiraiya confirmed.

"Tsunade is aware of this as well?"

"Of course. Our first priority was to eliminate as much of Nagato's forces as possible, and we knew that he had control of the Akatsuki organization," the toad sannin continued, "we hunted them down in pairs. Hime and Nibi's Yugito took out members Deidara and Sasori, while Naruto and Kakashi took out members Hidan and Kakuzu."

"I remember that," the Hokage muttered, "Kakashi-san collected the bounty, I believe."

"I did," Kakashi nodded, "with Shizune and Tenzou, you now know everyone who is helping us."

"And this invasion that Jiraiya mentioned?"

Naruto decided that it would be best if he spoke, since he was the one with the memories, "in around six months, Nagato will attack Konoha to find me. The last time it happened, he completely destroyed it. We all had to rebuild Konoha from scratch. After that battle was the moment where he destroyed his eyes, the 'trigger.' Instead of risking him destroying the village again, we thought it would be better to go to Ame and hunt for his real body before he left."

"And…you're going to invade a hidden village with the ten of you?"

"Oi!" Naruto protested, "the 'ten of us' include two of the Sannin, four Jinchuuriki, a former Kazekage, and Kakashi-sensei!"

"I feel slightly inadequate," Kakashi muttered.

"It's more of an infiltration," Jiraiya corrected, "there are two main purposes. One is to prevent the Six Paths of Pein from heading towards Konoha, because a fight with them apparently causes great destruction whether they win or lose. The second is to find Nagato's real body and – for lack of a better word – kidnap him. Because if we leave him alone, the resilience of time will take it upon itself to make sure those eyes are either destroyed somehow or taken by Madara."

"And…Kyuubi and the other bijuu are helping you?" Sandaime turned back to Naruto.

"Yeah," Naruto nodded, "he started helping me the moment I arrived here. The bijuu don't like that their creator's seal is being used by someone."

"Have you not considered that the Kyuubi might be tricking you? He has never been known to cooperate with humans," the Hokage asked in a low voice.

"I have all the proof I need from Gaara and Yugito nee-san and the other Jinchuuriki," he replied firmly, "Kurama has been helping me become stronger."

"I see…" Sarutobi Hiruzen turned too look down for a moment, thinking. Then, he peered out from under his hat, "and when are you going to do this?"

"We're going to begin three weeks before the trigger," Kakashi answered, "because it is clear that Madara will come after us, and we don't want to have to hold him off for a long time. We need to take Pein sometime close to the trigger, maybe a day or two before it happens. Once the future Madara returns, he will be disoriented for a while, and won't know what's happened."

"Well," the Hokage sighed, "it is true that I cannot do much from my position as Hokage, but I will try to aid you in this," he looked towards his former student, "do you remember how I asked Tsunade and Orochimaru and various other Konoha deployments to describe Ame during their stay? The purpose for it was to draw up layouts of the village. When Hanzo was taken out, there was fear that the new leader would be another war commander, and that he would attempt to sabotage Konoha, so we gathered as much information about the place as we could."

"Maps? That certainly is useful," the toad sage nodded, "it's been years since the war, so they're probably not very accurate, but it's better than nothing."

"I'm afraid that is all I can think of," the Sandaime told them, "I'm getting a little old for these things, but you've taken on something very dangerous. Do you plan on letting any of this be known later on?"

"I think that's the jinchuuriki's decision," Kakashi looked towards the blond boy.

"Um…I don't want to," Naruto said sheepishly, "I don't want Sasuke and Sakura to think I'm someone different. But if we don't deal with Madara during our plan, we'll have to face him later on."

"Konoha will be prepared, though preferably under the _next _Hokage," the Sandaime asserted, "the ten of you…focus on the task. I'm glad that you have told me about this, or else I would have been rather suspicious."

"Mou…there's one other thing," Kakashi spoke up hesitantly, "while we're attempting to be open, there's another issue that you should know about…"

"Hmm?" Jiraiya raised an eyebrow, "I can't think of anything we missed."

"We're going to tell him _that_?" Naruto burst out. He turned back to jam both hands down on the Hokage's desk, "jiji, promise me you won't do anything sudden if we tell you this!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen looked slightly taken aback, "what is it? Could there possibly be anything more shocking than the existence of Madara and the Rinnegan?"

"Well, it's the continued existence of someone else," the blond boy laughed nervously, "and you might not like it since you were involved in throwing him out."

"Jiraiya, Sasuke and Sakura recently went after Uchiha Itachi, to kill him and take revenge for the Massacre," Kakashi explained quietly.

"I know about that much," the Sandaime nodded, "I've sent word to chunin Haruno Sakura to bring him in when she deems it safe for him to see. My anbu inform me that he is her patient for the next three days."

"Well, we didn't tell you everything," the masked jonin sighed, "we…left out the fact that Uchiha Itachi is still alive."

For a moment, there was silence.

"He's being tended to by Tsunade-san as we speak."

Mentioning that did not help matters.

"Is this for interrogation or torture?" The Hokage said in a voice that was almost dangerously low.

"No," Naruto spoke up, "we know the truth about the massacre. That Danzo and the other council members outvoted you. We weren't sure _exactly _how you felt about it, though…"

Kakashi held his hands up, "Sandaime-sama, we _know _that he's on our side. He's a pacifist, he's only survived this long in order to commit suicide by little brother so that Sasuke could attain his Mangekyou."

"Well, I heard that much from Naruto, but this is surprising…" Jiraiya trailed, "where is he right now?"

"In one of the abandoned sheds that was used as a meeting place during the war," Kakashi told him, "the one we started using. Tsunade-san is trying to draw the illness out as much as possible, but he won't last much longer."

"I suppose you've already questioned him, then?" The Hokage calmed down slightly.

"You're not going to execute him for joining the Akatsuki, are you?" Naruto bit his lip, "he was only keeping an eye on them…"

"I am aware," he finally said, "Uchiha Itachi is a loyal shinobi. I've tried my best to protect Sasuke like he asked of me before leaving."

"Do you want to see him?" Kakashi asked. He knew that the Sandaime was serious about what he said, the one lone anbu Rat was the only other person in the room, hiding in the shadows behind one of the numerous shelves that lined the walls. He had taken their request for privacy to heart, and Rat had been sworn to secrecy.

"Despite what you think, I do not wish to question him needlessly," the Hokage sighed, "I was momentarily worried because I thought you may have interrogated him and mistaken him for the traitor that many believe he is. I will leave the matter in your hands, there is no use in stirring up old demons," with that he gestured with one hand, "your village-arrest has been canceled, you are all free to leave at will, with the exception of Naruto, who must get permission from Jiraiya or Kakashi-san."

"Aww, why?" Naruto pouted slightly, "I'm a chunin of Konoha now!"

The wrinkled on the old man's face eased up slightly as he chuckled, "yes, well you're also the Number One Unpredictable Ninja, aren't you?"

ooooo

"Ready, Sasuke?"

"Ch."

"You gotta be more excited, teme!" Naruto urged, watching Sasuke's fingers slip into the knot of the cloth covering his eyes.

The last few days had been akin to hell for him, and the relief he felt when Sakura had finally informed him he was ready to see was amazing. Six and a half days of stumbling for his toothbrush and sitting impatiently at his breakfast table while he waited for Sakura to come to his apartment with the gunk that the hospital called 'food', of silently going insane while she chattered to him over lunch about making up with Ino after their latest argument. Six days of sitting alone near his bed meditating the afternoon and evening away because he was too proud to ask Sakura to help him stave off boredom, of seeing – hearing – her in the afternoon when she brought _hospital dinner gunk_…that had been his limit.

"Sasuke can't fight without his Sharingan," Sakura informed him, "he's been a total mess without even his normal sight. Let him have his moment."

"Ch," he gritted his teeth and slowly pulled out the knot, allowing the long strips of cloth to flow freely down his back. He shifted his feet into the soft grass below him, the grass outside the shed where Itachi was. He paused when the cloth was free in his hands, covering only his eyes, and then pulled it all off at once, allowing the strips to pool around his neck. He could feel the sore, soft skin around his eyes and imagined the mess they probably looked.

"Woah, the skin around his eyelids is all pink!" Naruto observed. Well he hadn't exactly planned to look dashing anyway.

"Well, skin does that when it's covered up for a long time," Kakashi informed him, "go on, Sasuke, open them."

Opening them sounded easier than it was. It was like his eyes were stuck together, ten times worse that they had been when he had first tried after the battle with Itachi. He had to make a conscious effort just to separate his eyelids, and when they finally cracked open, he closed them immediately.

He opened them again, and found that it was a little easier. It was like…staring into a bright fire for hours during the middle of the night, and then trying to use them normally. Slowly, the world came in view. Directly in front of his face was Naruto, close enough that he could see the tapers of the whisker marks on his face.

"Oi dobe, get away," Sasuke put a firm hand on his teammate's face and pushed away, looking around slowly. On one side was Sakura, leaning against the wall of the shed. Apart from a small scar on her neck which was quickly fading, she looked the same as usual. He slowly moved his eyeballs to peer at Kakashi, standing beside her. He was as impassive as ever, but the crinkle of his eye revealed the upturned lips beneath his mask. He sighed in relief upon verifying that his sight was as good as it had always been.

"Are you going to try…those?" Sakura questioned.

"I don't know, I can't feel how to," Sasuke told her seriously, blinking a few times to get used to the light hitting his retina, "I want to talk to him first."

"Well, you're in time," Tsunade said softly, exiting the shed, "he's been trying to help me stave off the fever with pure will for the last few days because I told him that you wanted to see him, but I can't do anything else," she bit her lip, as if ashamed that she, the legendary Senju Tsunade, had to say such a thing.

"It's amazing that you've been able to do even this much," Sakura told her earnestly, "Tsunade-sama is truly legendary."

"Oh stop, you'll be up to speed in no time, with the pace you're going," the slug sannin walked over to lay a fond hand on Sakura's pink head.

Sasuke wordlessly pushed past her, pace quickening as he entered the shed. There was no time…he pushed the door open, almost knocking it off its creaking hinges. He paused in his step as he regarded the figure inside.

So there had been a reason why Shizune had left with more blankets every morning. The floor of one corner was piled with them, creating a makeshift futon. As many blankets as there were below him, there were none on top. The redness in his face, and the slight rash on his neck indicated a deep fever that all the ice in the world would not be able to bring down. The final stages of his illness.

Sasuke forced himself to walk, to close the door behind him as he kneeled beside his brother's head. The white bandages that covered his eyes, the familiar black hair that was neatly pressed below his head, free of its tie, the lines of his face that made him seem much older than he actually was…

The thin bones of his collar, the lean form that was the result of training that would make Gai-sensei proud and a diet that would make an Akimichi cry tears of pain, the long, thin fingers that Sasuke's forehead was well acquainted with…

It was hard to see him as a murderous killer without those eyes. It was hard to see him as anything but…

"Aniki?" He asked softly, hoping he was awake. He'd thought long and hard during all the time he had spent doing nothing but staring at the wall, pretending to meditate. Somewhere along the way, the word that had been such a taboo had released itself back into his vocabulary. It was a strange feeling, but not a bad one. Being able to use that word with Uchiha Itachi once more.

"Sasuke?" a slightly rasping voice replied, "I could not hear your breathing this time."

"I'd be surprised if you could," a small, watery smile spread on his lips, "with a fever like that I'm surprised you can hear my voice right now."

"Tsunade-sama…told me that you wished to see me once you had your sight," Itachi replied, "I did not think it was such a good idea…but I thought I could last for that much longer, Otouto."

Sasuke watched the small smile on his brother's lips almost breathlessly, feeling a rise of emotions within him that he hadn't felt in years, "aniki," he began, "did you know that there are places where the civilians who are born blind can learn to live? That's interesting, isn't it? I…looked into it because…I wasn't very good at living blind for the last few days. Maybe I should have stayed in one of those places."

"I can imagine," the smile on Itachi's lips was wry, "you were clumsy enough _with _your sight."

"I'm not like that anymore," Sasuke protested softly, "I…trained hard. Under Kakashi-sensei and Anko-sensei…I'm stronger now. I can throw kunai to my blind spots like you."

"Can you…spin one on your finger?" The rasping voice asked.

"That's an entertainment trick," Sasuke told him, making his voice a little lower, imitating the one he had once heard.

"Can you make a giant fireball?"

"I sure can."

"You don't need to train with me anymore…" Itachi said softly.

Sasuke didn't know if it was the delirium of his brother's fever, or if they were just reenacting the conversation on purpose…but he couldn't take his eyes off the figure in front of him.

"My time is over, Sasuke," he continued, "I was asking Tsunade-sama about you, about how you grew up after I left. She didn't know, so she told me that I could just ask you." Definitely delirious.

"I grew up normally," he told his brother, gritting his teeth at the pure _unfairness. _Seeing him in person, and realizing that he wouldn't always be there in the shed, was painful, "they decided to give me all our family's money, and I will inherit the Uchiha land when I turn eighteen. I ate tomatoes for breakfast and rice with seasoning for dinner."

"And…lunch?" Came the soft voice.

"At the academy. You know how horrible their food is."

"How did you perform?"

"Highest in my graduating class."

"Ah, that is never good."

"Why not?"

"Strange things happen with the top students, Otouto."

Sasuke bit his lip at the reference, "I know. But I was fine, because I had the Dead Last to keep me out of trouble."

"Worrying."

"Aniki? Why didn't you tell me before? If you wanted the Mangekyou eyes to protect me, you could have kept them yourself," he said, slightly uncertain.

Growing up in Konoha's most powerful clan taught him many things. One of these things was to watch his words, to make sure that everything he spoke was meant to be said. In the beginning, Sasuke had never understood this, and had spoke freely to anyone he wanted, he'd been a lively child. At first, it had been alright to speak like that, the other Uchiha found it endearing. While Itachi was the genius, the heir of the Uchiha power, little Sasuke had been the wonderful younger son who served more in bringing smiles to the faces of his relatives with his antics.

This had quickly been remedied when he had reached academy age, when he was quickly taught by life that the Uchiha could not say anything they wanted. Their pride forced them to control their words. And so Sasuke had learned quickly to think before he spoke, and everything he said was perfectly placed.

Even then, there had been two people to whom this rule didn't apply. His mother, and his older brother. After some time, even his mother had gone off the list, especially after Shisui's death, when his parents had both turned to him for the first time with a new contemplating look in their eyes. Itachi had remained the only one he could speak his mind with.

And so Sasuke was startled by his own emotions when he realized that he was speaking freely with his brother once more.

"I have a illness, Sasuke," Itachi responded quietly, "something like this is not easy to treat while on the run as a missing-nin."

"But…you made it worse by fighting me! You could have told me the truth, and then you would have had years left!"

"I've already explained, Otouto. I am not as brave as some-"

"How can you not be?" Sasuke blurted out, "how can you dare say you aren't brave after telling me all of that?..."

Itachi remained silent, simply waiting. He shifted his head towards Sasuke's voice, as if his eyes were peering from beneath his bandages, "maybe there was another way," he murmured, "but this seems to be how it ends."

"No," Sasuke shook his head, feeling the first telltale signs of the catch in his throat. He didn't want to heat that there could have been another way. He didn't want to know about what he could have missed…

"Have you fought Nekomata yet?"

"I beat that stupid cat seven times over. Obaa-san's book is complete."

He didn't miss the slight smile on Itachi's face when he said it.

"What do you think I am," Sasuke demanded, "some genin? I'm a jonin!"

Now there was definitely a smile. He absently wondered how far his brother's delirium went.

"At fifteen? That's impressive." For some reason, he sounded genuinely impressed.

"Not as good as you," he said between gritted teeth, trying to sound angry so that the catch in his throat wouldn't reveal itself.

"So you still view me as your goal, do you? Well, that seems to be what older brothers are for. Although now, I think you can defeat me quite easily," He murmured.

"But I wasn't able to win," Sasuke said softly.

"I wasn't as impressive as you seem to think," Itachi told him, a touch of wry humor in his voice, "I may have killed more people than most experienced jonin, but Shisui and Fukurou both knew the fool that I could really be. In the anbu there are no children and no adults, only superiors and teammates."

Sasuke didn't exactly know how to answer, and he wasn't aware who Fukurou was. He stayed silent, waiting for his brother to continue.

"I did not kill him," he went on slowly, "not quite. But it's true that I gained my Mangekyou upon seeing him die."

"The people who gave you that order," Sasuke went on, "who were they? Naruto says the Hokage was outvoted, who outvoted him? Who did you take that order from?"

"Telling you that might undo most of what I've done so far," came the reply, "you don't need to know that. Those people acted in defense of Konoha, and they are loyal to their village."

"Loyal enough to send an innocent to the life of a missing-nin," Sasuke growled, still trying to sound harsh.

"Don't take revenge, Otouto," the soft voice added, "you've had enough of that, I think."

"But-"

"They're all probably scheduled to die of old age soon," his brother interrupted, "you would only be giving them an honorable death in dying while fighting." It was a strange notion, but he was willing to say anything to prevent his brother from going down that path once more.

"Fine," Sasuke mumbled, "it's pitiful to take revenge on someone old enough to die naturally anyway." He recognized the absurdity, but didn't comment.

"Sasuke?" Itachi's voice was quickly changing, become more difficult to make out, "listen carefully."

This time, he didn't try to hide the catch in his throat, "I'm listening, aniki."

"Sasuke," he whispered, "there was a day when…Sandaime-sama told me about something called…the Will of Fire. Do you know what…that is?" Itachi thought back, and his addled mind vaguely recalled the day he had begged for the Hokage to protect his brother. The day Sarutobi Hiruzen had seen the pacifist that he truly was, and had laid a hand on his shoulder and told him about the Senju ideal. At first, Itachi had felt like a traitor upon hearing those words, a traitor to the Uchiha. After the Sandaime Hokage had finished, he had felt like a true shinobi of Konoha.

"I don't," the younger Uchiha boy tried to ignore the tears that were threatening to fall of his face as he leaned his ear closer to his brother's mouth, trying to make out the words.

"It's…the will to protect the village, and to…love, cherish, and fight for it," his words were ones that he had picked from memory, reciting them from the man he had first heard them from, "it gives us…the strength to fight against…all odds," he coughed briefly, "as Uchiha, we have…the Curse of Hatred embedded into us but…I want us to go past it. Otouto will you…protect Konoha?"

"Yes," Sasuke barely knew what he was saying, only that he had to agree, "yes I will."

"Good," Itachi breathed a long breath, as if in relief. Slowly, his hand came up, with two fingers held out loosely. He reached up, directly above, and tapped his brother's forehead. Even while blind, feverish, and half delirious, his senses were good enough to approximate the location from Sasuke's voice alone.

When he finally faded away, his younger brother's eyes shone red with a doujutsu that had not manifested in over a century.


	33. Preparation & Moments

**Note: The first part of this chapter is the actual chapter. The second part is another 'Moments' section like the one after the chunin exams, and it shows events throughout the next five to six months.**

**Chapter 33 – Preparation**

"I'm going to hide here for the next week," Uchiha Sasuke announced.

Kakashi blinked in confusion at his student, who was standing in his doorway. He moved aside, and Sasuke immediately pushed past him. Naruto looked up from where he had been sitting on the couch browsing through more fuuinjutsu scrolls.

"Isn't this a bit…sudden?" He questioned, closing the door behind him.

"The news has spread," Sasuke told him gruffly, "that Sakura and I have taken down Itachi," he sat down none too softly on the couch, "Sakura may be perfectly willing to deal with all the attention, but I don't like being pestered. It should die down within the week, though."

"Aren't you going to collect the bounty anytime soon?" Kakashi questioned, walking over and sitting back down on the table with his book, "it's quite a lot, you know."

"I have no need for money," the Uchiha boy replied, absently picking up one of Naruto's scrolls, "I told Sakura she could have it. She didn't exactly want it either, but at least she can give it to her family business."

"Why didn't you give it to me?" Naruto pouted, "I could have had enough to buy all the ramen I wanted for the rest of my life!"

"Yes, dobe, what should I choose; the wellbeing of a decent civilian business, or feeding my teammate who has an endless pit for a stomach? This…" He pointed to one of the seal diagrams on the scroll, "looks familiar," he traced the three black tomoe in the middle and the elaborate inverse hexagonal design of the seal.

"It's probably very similar to Anko-sensei's curse seal," Naruto commented, remembering Sasuke's own seal from his previous future, "but this does the opposite. It seals chakra outside instead of in."

"What are you studying this for?" He raised an eyebrow at his blond teammate.

Naruto laughed nervously, "well, in case I ever fight an enemy that can't be killed, I could try to make it harder for them to fight?"

"If you're ever up against an enemy you can't kill, then run, dobe," Sasuke gave him an amused look, and then turned to their sensei, "Kakashi-sensei, Sakura is being considered for promotion."

"I though I was your senpai?" The masked jonin asked.

"…I'll stick with sensei for now," Sasuke relented. After his last mission, his ego had taken a slight blow and he no longer considered himself on par with the more experienced jonin, "but she's on watch. She'll probably be leading our next mission."

"Will she make me the fukutaicho?" Naruto asked hopefully.

"No, that will be me," Sasuke told him, "you may not even be coming along this time, it may be a four man team with me, her, Sai, and Kakashi-sensei. I hear that they're going to challenge her with a reconnaissance mission, and no one wants your orangeness in one of those."

"Orange is the perfect color for stealth!" Naruto protested, "if you can be stealthy in orange, you can be stealthy in anything!"

"Well, that's one way to look at it," Kakashi sighed, "although I remember a certain d-rank in a pumpkin field where Naru-kun blended right in…"

"Wait," Naruto stilled, "I'm going to be the _last one promoted to jonin in our team_? This is so unfair! I could beat any of you easily!"

"I'm sure," Sasuke drawled.

"Shut up flower-eyes!"

"They don't look like flowers!" The Uchiha boy tried to defend his Mangekyou. It had looked completely different from Itachi's, only barely inheriting the tapered points in the middle. The design was not based on the three tomoe, instead it branched out in six points, as if in petals.

Sasuke had been silently taken out of the shed by Tsunade the previous evening, and had come out from his meeting with the Hokage earlier that morning. They had decided that although he could lay claim to defeating Itachi, it would be wise not to allow anyone to know of his Mangekyou. After all, there were no other Uchiha in existence apart from him and Madara, and he would be attracting many powerful shinobi who wanted a doujutsu of their own.

"It's alright, no one said a chunin can't be Hokage," humor shone in Kakashi's revealed eye.

"That's it! When I become Hokage _none _of you get leading positions! In fact, I'll have you all demoted to genin," Naruto huffed.

"I think I'd like to be a genin," Kakashi nodded, "if I get to keep doing peaceful d-ranks with little kids, why not? I'm almost thirty now, I'm getting old…" Behind his silly words was hint of genuine emotion. He had become a jonin far too early. When he was wiping blood off his father's tanto, other boys his age had been playing around and discovering girls for the first time.

"Don't let Gai-sensei hear you say that," Sasuke told him knowingly.

Suddenly, there was another knock on the door. Kakashi reluctantly put his book away to walk over and open it, peering outside to see a familiar head of pink hair.

"Sensei, is Sasuke in there?" Sakura asked, already knowing the answer.

Kakashi wordlessly moved aside and allowed her to enter.

"I knew you'd hide in here," she said triumphantly, hands on her hips, "too scared to go out and show them?"

"I'm keeping them a secret," Sasuke reminded her, moving over on the couch, "and I don't want to hear about Itachi from a bunch of people my age who all remember the massacre."

"Well, your first goal in life is now over," she grinned, "onto the second one, right?"

"Second one?" Naruto frowned, "is there someone else he needs to kill?"

"No, he said he'd restore his clan, remember?" She said cheekily.

"No way," Sasuke said firmly, "pink hair would look disastrous with the Sharingan."

Sakura reached over to land a firm punch on the side of his head, and Sasuke clutched his ear in pain while Naruto made gagging noises.

"Now that you're all here, why not go out and train?" Kakashi commented, "I didn't know that I'd have to deal with this when I took Naruto in…"

"Do you know understand that there are people who want to _talk to me_?" Sasuke reminded him, "they want a play-by-play recount of the entire battle!"

"Before you ask, no, I didn't tell them anything," Sakura pointed out.

"Scared of being challenged to a spar, flower-eyes?" Naruto teased.

Sasuke contemplated, and then turned to the masked jonin who was still on the table, flipping through his book, "Kakashi-sensei, does yours kind of look like a…flower…too?"

"Not even slightly," he replied, sounding amused.

ooooo

"Hoshigaki Kisame."

From where he was looking out over the bridge that connected the two main towers of Ame, the blue skinned man turned sharply, not used to having people sneak up behind him. When he saw who it was, his heartbeat rose instead of falling.

"Ah, Konan-sama," he smiled.

She stood at silently as always, a perfect being in his eyes. The paper flower that tilted slightly out of her hair never wilted, and the eyes that peered back at him were deep, yet impassive. In a strange way, she reminded him of his partner. And yet where Itachi's was quick and graceful, she never moved. She appeared, and disappeared, and sometimes she would extend her lovely hand to drop a scroll in his own. Her stillness gave her the aura of a beautifully sculpted statue.

"Has Itachi arrived yet?" He asked her. He had no doubt that she would know if he had; somehow, Konan-sama knew everything. Little paper birdies seemed to float around the world, returning only to whisper in her ear.

"Leader wishes you to know that your partner is dead," she told him. He always expected her voice to be soft, again like Itachi's, but it was different. Her voice was like the sharp edge of a blade, or the edges of the paper she used to kill. He spent a moment simply basking in the sound of it before he reluctantly processed her words.

When he realized it, he frowned. Itachi was dead? That certainly was interesting. The shark-like gills over his face wavered slightly as he paused to let it sink in. The boy he had all but lived with for the past ten years or so was gone.

"Ah, that is not good," he replied in his usual wavering voice. No matter what had happened, Konan's presence came first. "Itachi was an interesting boy, it will be strange without him."

Konan remained silent, turning only her head to look over the village that was wet with rain.

"So who was it?" He asked, feeling the need to, "anyone you'll send me after, Konan-sama?"

"There is no reason for you to know," she replied in her usual monotone.

"Hmm? You won't let me avenge my dear partner? I liked that boy, he lasted longer than most," Kisame said with a small grin. Of course, Konan-sama would never go back on anything she said, but he wanted her to think that he had some sort of heart underneath his fish-like exterior.

"Leader wishes to know of his condition," Konan asked simply.

"Well, seeing as he's dead…" Kisame raised an eyebrow.

"Before his death."

The blue-skinned missing-nin thought back to his days with the Uchiha boy, trying to recall every last moment for Konan-sama's sake.

He vaguely remembered coughing and quickly-hid palms smeared with blood. A hint of rashes on Itachi's mesh-covered back whenever he would reluctantly remove the cloak that hid his pale, thinning frame to wash the blood off. The Uchiha boy's insistence on using separate single inn rooms even though other Akatsuki partners had felt perfectly fine using a larger single room for security, in case of an attack during the night. Strands of long dark hair that he would sometimes leave behind where he sat. Yes, there had been something wrong with Uchiha Itachi, but it hadn't been Kisame's place to ask the solitary figure what it was.

"He was not well," Kisame finally replied, "I don't know what he had, but there was something."

"I will relay that to Leader," Konan made to disappear.

"Wait," the Kiri missing-nin spoke up before she left, "who will be my new partner? It's best if you hand them over early, the new ones always take a while to break in."

"Your next task will not arrive for months, and your partner will be Tobi," she stated plainly, not turning to look at him.

"Tobi?" Kisame visibly shrank, "why him? Is that person still even in the Akatsuki?"

"Tobi is an Akatsuki member," Konan confirmed, "you will receive the details when the mission begins."

"Why Tobi? That annoying little…what can he _do_ anyway? His Ultimate Escape Abilities are in no way compatible with my skills," he protested. As much as he wanted to obey everything that she said, this was a little much. Tobi? That silly masked one who always hid behind Zetsu? Why on earth did he have to be paired up with someone like that?

Konan ignored him, and went off, leaving the faint smell of fresh paper in her wake. He watched her walk away while breathing in the scent, her figure shrouded by the cloak that left everything a mystery. Kisame sighed and realized that things would not be as interesting as they were before. Maybe he had Itachi to blame. Getting himself killed…he had seemed so different from the others, but in the end they were all the same.

Only when she was out of sight did he swing Samehada over his shoulder with a weary smile and leave to properly mourn his dead partner, out of duty at least.

ooooo

In the next month, Naruto threw himself back into training, to prepare for their plans. There were only around five months left until they have to begin planning for the infiltration, and he didn't want to waste a moment. It was hard to train with Kyuubi's chakra for long periods of time within the village, but the Sandaime had given him license to train outside as long as Kakashi allowed him. During those times, his sensei would usually bring Yamato along and spar with him to help the mokuton user prepare.

It was in part relieving and agitating, because everything was calm. Sakura was promoted to jonin after a perfectly led mission in which Naruto was forced to temporarily abandon his orange jumpsuit, Neji and Tenten became inner-level anbu members upon finally receiving Gai-sensei's reluctant approval, the Sandaime discreetly gathered and copied all the village layouts of Ame that had been put together from bits and pieces of information during the last war, and Shimura Danzo publicly congratulated Sasuke for defeating Itachi while the Uchiha boy glared daggers at him the entire time.

The calm was disturbed only by the fact that Naruto knew they would soon be up against someone he dreaded to face. He found himself begging Sasuke to peruse through all the leftover historical scrolls in the Uchiha compound under the guise of 'research' while he searched for any bits and pieces of information about Madara, of which he found none. The man was a complete mystery, and all that remained of him was an intimidating stone figure in the Uchiha council chamber.

But it was worth the effort, because it encouraged him to become stronger, and to push himself to control more and more of Kurama's chakra. He wanted to be able to stand a Version Two release and be able to talk to his mother again, but so far Kurama had given him a definite 'no'. It was too dangerous to try.

Every month, he would get another letter from Gaara, and Jiraiya would exchange information with Utakata. Naruto read the letters out loud to Kakashi and Yamato and Shizune the moment he received them. Gaara was finally rid of the last remnants of Shukaku's chakra, but he was keeping the demon tanuki's absence a secret. Kazekage Baki had finished establishing an alliance with the powerful new Mizukaze, Terumi Mei. Unlike her predecessor, Mei was intelligent enough to recognize a good offer when she saw it. The chunin exams planned in Suna that year would have Kiri genin for the very first time in history, and Naruto had cheerfully waved off Sarutobi Konohamaru and his team, who would be travelling there to try their hand at a promotion. Sunagakure was now stable, and the citizens still held a village-wide day of remembrance for their previous Kazekage's death.

The letters from Kumo were much lighter, since B seemed to insist on writing parts of them in rhyme. The Raikage was satisfied that three Jinchuuriki were now under his supposed control. Nii Yugito was welcomed back into Kumo's forces from her long sabbatical, and returned to active jonin duty. As one of the youngest yet most experienced jonin Kumo had, she was a valuable asset. Utakata was also put into duty, but he was always on the same team as B, to be watched over at all times. He was finally given a Kumo hitai-ite, and he wore it with pride as gratitude to the new village that gave him a home.

But underneath all the normality of their lives, ten shinobi were quietly preparing for what would probably become a small war.

**Moments**

**Sasuke:**

Uchiha Sasuke stared at the three small humans in front of him.

Two of them, the ones he had come to endearingly refer to as Brat and Whiny since their names escaped him, were sitting with determined looks on their faces, and were holding empty bento boxes in their hands. One of them – Annoying – was tied to the short tree stump in the middle of training ground seven. She huffed in annoyance as another growl emerged from her stomach.

"We're ready, sensei," Brat told him, "we'll take them this time for sure." The sun was beating down over their heads from its position high in the sky.

Sasuke merely shifted, allowing the bells on his hip to chime. He turned to look at the girl tied to the stump, "you didn't get anything to eat, did you?"

"Of course not," she huffed again, "you said I wasn't supposed to eat." She blew her short hair out of her face, unable to tuck it behind her ears due to her bound hands.

The newly minted jonin-sensei candidate sighed. How on earth had Kakashi-sensei put up with this? He tried to recall the advice he'd been given, and then turned to speak to the three academy students.

"And so you two," he pointed at Brat and Whiny, "allowed your teammate to go hungry? Even thought I specifically told you that you were supposed to work as a team and you know that a hungry teammate is a liability?"

"You…told us not to let her eat! It was an order from a superior," Whiny whined in his screeching childish voice.

The three of them had been completely ecstatic when they found out that they had been assigned to _the _Uchiha Sasuke, Konoha's legendary prodigy who was rumored to have taken down Uchiha Itachi himself with a single blow. Powerful, young, well-liked, and not to mention rather dashing, he was the sensei every academy student dreamed of. Until recently, he had staunchly refused to set eyes on a genin team, but the Sandaime had somehow bullied him into accepting the position. Apart from Kakashi, who had been offered the position of jonin-sensei at the age of fourteen, which he had rejected in order to join the anbu, Sasuke was the youngest jonin-sensei candidate in the last fifty years at sixteen years old. He had half a mind to run away and join the anbu himself, but his sensei had quietly told him not to, and he respected the advice.

Sasuke momentarily thought of giving them his sensei's teamwork speech, but decided that they probably weren't worth it. Such a pity, Kakashi had given him his very own set of bells too…but on the inside he was slightly gleeful that he wouldn't be forced to take on students.

"Congratulations," he drawled, "you three will be spending another year in the academy."

"Eh?" Annoying burst out, struggling against the stump, "you said we would have another chance in the afternoon!" She looked at him with angry eyes.

"Oh, I do feel sorry for failing _you_," he told her with a raised eyebrow, "but you were put with these two, and in the shinobi world, luck is a type of skill."

"That's lame!" Brat told him, standing up angrily and allowing the bento box to fall to the side, "shinobi are supposed to stick to their word!"

"And if they don't?" He asked, looming over the small boy with his arms crossed. He had quickly discovered a secret joy in making people scared, and it was harmless fun, no matter what Sakura said about him being sadistic, "what will you do then? Run away crying? This wasn't a test of skill; any student of mine _will _become powerful no matter if they're the top of their class or the Dead Last. This was my sensei's test of teamwork and you all failed miserably. Now take your things, go back to the academy, beat yourselves into shape, and try again next year," he instructed.

The boy under his glare looked like he was about to faint. Sasuke reluctantly turned down the inklings of killer intent that he was slipping out. _He _didn't remember being such a weakling of a genin.

Knowing better than to question him, both boys ran off with their things, forgetting to untie their teammate. Sasuke sighed and walked around the stump, reaching out to slip long fingers into the knot of the rope. It gave way easily and he pulled the length away, allowing Annoying to turn and give him one last angry look and a flip of her short hair before running off to attempt murder on her two would-be teammates.

"Did you plan that, or did they actually have a chance to pass?" An amused voice asked from behind him. Sasuke sighed in exasperation and turned to see Hyuga Neji leaning against a tree, arms crossed over his loose, white Hyuga clan robes.

"Why haven't you been assigned a genin team yet, _Hyuga_?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Sandaime-sama was about to suggest it," Neji told him, "but Hiashi-sama informed him that his daughter and I had better things to do than watching over children. Although Hinata-sama was slightly displeased by that, I believe Kurenai-sensei's love of children has rubbed off on her."

"So clan heads have that sort of power? Interesting, I'll use that to get out of my next team," Sasuke commented airily.

"How, exactly?" Neji had the slightest hint of amusement in his voice.

"Well, I _am _a clan head," Sasuke informed him.

"One person cannot be a clan," the Hyuga boy raised an eyebrow.

"But one person _can _be a clan head," the Uchiha boy replied knowingly.

"How interesting," Neji's smile was wry, "we will see if your strange logic works on the council soon enough."

Sasuke sighed, prepared for nightmares of little humans running around and daring to call him sensei.

**Naruto and Iruka:**

"It's been a while, Naruto," Iruka smiled down at him kindly while he pulled his bowl of ramen towards him, picking out a set of chopsticks.

"I know, Iruka-sensei!" Naruto agreed, happily digging into his own bowl, "I figured I'd finally pay you back for that time I left you with the Ichiraku bill."

They were seated on the front stools of Ichiraku Ramen, and it felt wonderfully familiar. In front of them, Teuchi was busily washing bowls while Ayame was making the next batch of noodles with expertise. Naruto had seen Iruka making his way home from another academy class, and had immediately dragged his former sensei over for supper.

"Which of the fifty times in which I have been left the bill are you paying me back for?" Iruka asked dryly, snapping his chopsticks apart, "you still owe me forty-nine more."

"Yeah, well, baby-steps, right?" Naruto grinned with his mouth full of ramen noodles, "I was wondering if you could put my name forward for jonin promotions."

"Hmm, isn't Kakashi-san supposed to do that?" Iruka raised an eyebrow at the boy who hadn't come to see him in months. He had certainly grown taller, and was that a voice change he heard?

"Kashi-sensei is too much of a lazy butt to actually walk to the centre," Naruto deadpanned, "if I wanted _him _to do it, I'd probably have to carry him there, Icha Icha books and all."

"Ah, well I'll think about it," the other chunin replied.

"_Think _about it?" Naruto pouted, "I'm could kick Sasuke's butt any day and he still got promoted before me!"

"The Hokage doesn't have to be a jonin, Naruto," Iruka told him sagely, taking the first slurp of ramen.

"That's what everyone's telling me, but it would be nice if I could at least advance properly!" The blond boy protested, "I wanna teach kids too!"

"Please, allow me to save those poor souls from your tutelage," Iruka said teasingly, "but alright. You _do_ seem to be much more responsible now."

"Yup!"

"Maybe Kakashi-san rubbed off on you."

"If that was true, I'd be a raging pervert," Naruto said matter-of-factly, "I barely managed to get out of Ero-Sennin's clutches."

"True, true," Iruka sighed, "it's such a pity too. He's a great shinobi," he dug his chopsticks in again, swirling them around thoughtfully.

"I think there's a relation between perverted-ness and ability to teach," Naruto said wisely, "I mean, there's Kashi-sensei and Ero-Sennin and Sasuke's Anko-sensei is just waiting for him to turn eighteen, and even you, Iruka-sensei. I bet you're a closet pervert-"

Iruka spluttered.

"And Tsunade baa-chan's amazing and surprisingly not perverted, but she's a horrible sensei. She makes poor Sakura-chan sneak sake into Shizune nee-chan's apartment for her. Sakura-chan only manages to learn from her because she's such a good student," he went on, "I mean, even Sandaime-jiji has a stash of Icha Icha under his desk, and he trained the Sannin!"

"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that," Iruka muttered, lifting the bowl to his lips to slurp down the broth.

Naruto grinned, pushing his empty bowl away, "but anyway, I hope I become a jonin soon. I mean, I haven't played a prank in ages. That means I'm mature."

Iruka set the bowl down and raised an eyebrow at him, "not even one?"

"Not for years," he replied, nodding vigorously. He reached into the back pocket of his orange jumpsuit and pulled out gama-chan, taking out a few coins and putting them on the counter, "Teuchi oji-san, I'm paying this time! Iruka-sensei gets another bowl, my treat."

"Sure, Naruto," the old man grinned and placed another bowl in front of him, which he pushed aside to Iruka. The chunin academy teacher carefully looked all around the bowl, and poked at it with his chopsticks.

"You didn't…put anything into this, did you Naruto?" he asked suspiciously, recognizing the excited grin on the boy's face. Even though he looked much older, that grin remained the same.

"Nope! I'm mature now, Iruka-sensei. I don't put things in people's food. And besides," he snuck a wink at Ayame, who grinned back conspiratorially, "I would never dare to spoil ramen, it's the food of the gods."

"Alright," Iruka's eyes softened, "I suppose you only owe me forty-eight bowls now."

"Well, I'll be going, sensei," Naruto leapt up from his seat and waved, "I have to go train with Sakura-chan."

Umino Iruka watched the boy bounce away with a fond smile. Naruto certainly had grown up well. He liked the fact that beyond the rumors of his powerful sage mode and his training with one of the legendary sannin, Uzumaki Naruto was still the same, wonderful child he had always been. Iruka missed seeing his wide, ridiculously happy grin every morning when one of his pranks succeeded. He missed seeing how well he had worked with his teammates during the chunin exams, and how he had finally made worthy friends. But it was alright, because Naruto would always be there, and he would always be _Naruto._

He finished the bowl of thankfully unaltered ramen in silence, lost in the memories of one of his favorite students. In front of him, the rather pretty girl whose father owned the ramen stand kept looking his way and giggling. He vaguely wondered if maybe she would be interested in eating dinner together sometime, and stood up to ask.

When the stool came up with him, he groaned and reddened as Ayame burst into sweet laughter.

"NARUTO!"

**Kakashi and Gai:**

"Kakashi! My Eternal Rival!"

The masked jonin looked as the green bundle of Youth appeared in training ground seven. He was posing with one arm held straight in front of him, index finger pointing at the man leaning against a tree with his book held lazily in one hand. Beside him…

"Kakashi-sensei! The Illustrious Gai-sensei's Eternal Rival!" One Rock Lee greeted, standing in the exact same pose and looking eerily similar to his sensei as usual.

"Oh! Bushy Brows and Bushier Brow-sensei!" Naruto came running over from where he had finished half of a new kata Sasuke was showing him. Kakashi's other two students looked on in interest at the new figures that had just arrived. Despite the fact that there were no longer technically his students and two of them were jonin, they still felt the need to train together, and Kakashi felt no different reading his book outside in the fresh air instead of sprawled across his couch.

"Yo, Gai, Lee," he greeted lazily, raising an eyebrow at their sudden appearance.

"Are you here to challenge Sakura-chan to a spar?" Naruto asked Lee. The other boy smiled back, "yes, Naruto-kun! I have not been able to test my Youth against Konoha's Cherry Blossom for a long time."

"It's only been three weeks," Sakura commented, slipping out of her kata, "but sure, I wouldn't mind. Naruto may be a ninjutsu-monster, but he's still lacking when it comes to taijutsu."

"Oi!" Naruto protested, "I'm better than Sasuke-teme!"

"Watch it, dobe," Sasuke growled, narrowing his eyes. He had intimidation down to an art, and only his teammates were good enough to see the playful glint in his eyes.

"Are you going to use your flower-eyes against me?" Naruto huffed. He quickly remembered that Lee was standing beside him, "I mean, if you connect those tomoe properly, they'd totally look like petals."

Lee frowned in confusion while Sasuke almost face-palmed at his teammate's failure of a cover-up. He turned to Sakura, "Sakura-san, I challenge you to a most Youthful spar!"

Sakura cheerfully accepted, and the two went over to the middle of the grounds, taking their beginning stances. Naruto and Sasuke went over to watch. Sakura's fights with Lee were always interesting; she was not as fast as him even when he had his weights on, but her agility was quickly increasing and she insisted that her Ookasho was technically still considered taijutsu.

Kakashi watched as Gai sat down beside him, leaning against the same tree. He had to shift over a little in order to keep _some _personal space, because this was the man who insisted that bodily displays were the epitome of the Springtime of Youth.

"It is always a pleasure to see blossoming shinobi test the limits of their Youth," he stated, stretching his legs out in front.

"Hmm, is that why you're here, Gai?" Kakashi asked, turning to face him.

The brief troubled look on his face was quickly covered up by his usual cheerful look, "Kakashi, my Youthful student and I will be joining your morning practice for a few months!" he stated brightly, smiling so widely that Kakashi had to squint.

The masked jonin sighed, "does this have to do with Neji and Tenten?"

"Indeed," Gai sobered slightly, "we will be here until my two students leave the anbu."

Kakashi didn't question how he knew that they would. Maito Gai was not an inherently good judge of character, but he made a strong effort in getting to know people, and his students had been with him for years. If he said they would drop out of anbu, then they would drop out of anbu.

"Why did you let them join, then?" He asked lightly.

"I thought I could prevent it," the Green Beast replied, proudly watching Lee yell out his Konoha Senpu, "but it seems that they must learn on their own," he turned back to Kakashi, "I have seen what anbu is like through your eyes. The people who enter are those with troubled pasts beyond what my Neji and Tenten have experienced. It is not that they are not capable, they are more than capable. But they will not like it."

Kakashi didn't protest those points. It was true that Gai knew what anbu was like. The cheerful boy who had never stopped challenging him hadn't given up even when he had gone off into the anbu's inner circles. He had continued to issue challenge after challenge, seeing the weariness in his Eternal Rival's eyes each time their sparred. Anyone else would have left him alone, but Gai knew better.

He took a brief moment to think of Uchiha Itachi once more.

**Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro:**

"Would Aiko of Suna and Konohamaru of Konoha please step down?" Kankuro announced, looking up into the stadium. He smiled in encouragement at the two nervous genin who made their way down.

High up within the VIP viewing area, Temari turned to her youngest brother, "that's the Hokage's grandson, isn't it? Will there be any trouble if he is beaten too easily?" She was quickly developing a political mindset.

"No," Gaara replied softly, watching the match begin, "Sandaime Hokage-sama is a fair ruler, even more so than our Baki."

"How do you know so much about Konoha?" His sister enquired, leaning over the railing, "

"It is…a village which we must learn from," was Gaara's only answer, "Temari, there's something that I should probably tell you beforehand."

"Hmm?" The blond Suna jonin turned to raise an eyebrow at him, "what is it, Gaara?"

"I will have to leave soon," he turned, one hand on the railing, and looked into his sister's teal eyes, "only for a month or two, but I will be away from Suna."

Temari frowned, "why? I thought you finished your training trip?" She had been curious when her brother had refused to tell her what he had done during his year away, only claiming that there was no more risk of Shukaku emerging, but she hadn't pried. Her brother was a private person, and both she and Kankuro respected that.

"This is for another issue," Gaara replied, "I'm afraid that I cannot tell you anything. If I am successful, maybe I will tell you when I return."

"You're being rather vague," she observed, turning back to the match, where Konoha's Konohamaru was putting up a surprisingly strong fight against one of Suna's strongest genin.

"I have to be," he told her, "information can be dangerous, and I do not want to get you in trouble. You need not worry, because I will be among strong shinobi."

"That's what worries me," she admitted, "I don't know a lot, but I suspect that you know some very powerful people."

"Everything I do is for the good of my village and my friends," her youngest brother replied, "I will leave for the month, and become Kazekage upon my return."

"The council is pressuring you to take over _now, _Gaara," Temari frowned, "they won't like it if you disappear. Baki is a good leader, but they need someone who is both strong _and_ charismatic, and he has the charisma of the average mule. You're the leader we need right now."

"It will be fine, Suna can survive Baki-sensei for another few months," a slight wry smile pulled at Gaara's lips, "I do plan to become the youngest Kage, after all. For now, Suna has nothing to worry about. I trust Mizukage-sama in her intentions to form the alliance, and once I become Kazekage I will strengthen our frail alliance with Konoha."

"I don't know Konoha will forget about that invasion so easily," she said dryly, "even if it was Orochimaru, all our the shinobi that came with us were willing to continue with it."

"Trust me, there will be an alliance," he said firmly, "Sandaime Hokage-sama is retiring, and the next Hokage will be Senju Tsunade-sama, who I am already acquainted with. She saved my life when I had some…problems with Shukaku."

"I see…" Temari winced slightly when Konohamaru somehow managed to land the final blow, sending Aiko flying across the floor of the arena they had build especially for the exams, "well, I trust you, Gaara. You have a knack for making the right decisions."

"The winner is Konohamaru of Konoha!"

**Kakashi and Yamato:**

"We will stop here, Tenzou-kun," Kakashi said, taking in the former anbu member's tiredness.

"It's…Yamato," the brown-haired man managed to say, using his sleeve to wipe off the sweat that had gathered under his hitai-ite.

Kakashi simply shrugged, looking over the rest of training ground seven, which had various structures of wood bulging out of the ground, "you'll have to fix the ground later on. My other minions practice here too, you know. I wouldn't want them to get out of shape."

"Right, senpai," Yamato sighed, and followed the older man as he began to walk through the results of his mokuton, headed for the bridge that led out of the grounds, "senpai?"

"Yes, Tenzou-kun?"

"It's nearing time, isn't it?" he fell into step beside Kakashi and watched him from the corner of his eye.

The masked jonin sighed, "I was just joking about putting you on the front lines, you know. You'll likely be with Shizune serving as combat backup while she performs medical support."

"But…it's not something to be taken lightly," Yamato said hesitantly, "I mean, I've been reading some of the legends about the Rinnegan…"

"Legends are just that," Kakashi interrupted, "Naruto has faced this man by himself and won before, remember?"

"I know, senpai. I'm ready to fight. I'm willing to protect Konoha from Pein's attack and help protect the future from Madara in any way I can," Yamato nodded firmly, more to convince himself.

"And yet you're the same bundle of nerves as usual, Cat," Kakashi joked, "which is good. Not many strong shinobi are modest. Power tends to corrupt, you know."

"I'm…not sure if you're complimenting or insulting half the shinobi we know, senpai," Yamato told him earnestly.

A small smile appeared underneath his mask, revealed by the crinkle of his eye, "neither. You don't need to worry Yamato, I never let my teammates die, after all."

**Sakura and Tsunade:**

"Well, it's time."

Senju Tsunade and her student Haruno Sakura stood in the middle of the large expanse of land known as training ground nineteen. The slug sannin had her arms crossed over her chest, and was giving Sakura a contemplating look.

"I don't understand," Sakura frowned, "why did you bring me here, Tsunade-sama?"

"Because I want to teach you something," the older kunoichi replied, "something that I had never thought I would be passing on," she gave her student a severe glare, "you Haruno Sakura, have learned in four months what I have gathered together in ten years. You are a natural iryounin, and a natural strength-style taijutsu specialist."

Sakura almost blushed under the praise, but she knew that Tsunade-sama would prefer to see a more worthy reaction. Instead, she waited for her shishou to go on.

"Along with the genjutsu that you have learned from Kakashi, you are the closest anyone has ever come to being worthy of my legacy," Tsunade continued, guiltily reveling in her student's silent worship, "and so I've decided to teach you something that will make you worthy of inheriting the title of the Slug Summoner."

Sakura frowned, "but Tsunade-sama, you have already taught me how to summon the Slugs."

"That's not all that's needed to succeed me," the blond kunoichi went on, "it may take years for you to reach the level I set for you, but we are going to begin today."

Standing firmly on the grass of training ground seven, with nothing but empty training area for hundreds of meters around, Sakura looked forward in determination. She had no idea what Tsunade meant, but she would try her best to make her shishou proud.

"Yes, Tsunade-sama!"

**Neji and Tenten:**

The two green figures watched the other two in confusion. Outside the sky was only just beginning to brighten, the briefest hints of sunlight touching the horizon. It was four in the morning.

"So," Tenten raised an eyebrow, "Lee, are you listening? I need you make use of these new nunchaku, and you're going to be my punching bag."

"And I wish to test my speed against yours, Gai-sensei," Neji added, "I have been training hard. It will not be easy for you."

The two green figures stared, and Lee was the first to move. He ran over to throw his arms around Neji, laughing in delight.

"Neji-kun! I have missed you!" He yelled, squeezing the poor boy's ribs. Neji grunted in pain but reluctantly decided to make no move to release himself.

"Ah, this bodily display of Youth brings tears to my eyes!" Gai erupted. He turned to Tenten and held his arms out, "come, my Champion of Youth, leap into my arms and let us celebrate the reunion of Team Gai!"

"Like hell!" Tenten snapped, holding the shiny nunchaku out threateningly, "Neji may have mellowed out but I'm not letting myself be pulled into this!"

"Mellow? Who are you calling mellow?" Neji narrowed his eyes at her. He didn't look very convincing with Lee's cheek pressed against his.

"Tenten-san!" Lee began, finally releasing the Hyuga boy, "I would attempt to embrace you as well, but you currently hold a weapon in your hands…instead, I will graciously agree to your challenge!"

"So does this mean you two will be joining our four am training?" Gai inquired, smiling so brightly that they had to squint at him.

"Well, back in the anbu we were called for missions whenever, so time doesn't really matter anymore," Tenten shrugged, "sure we'll join."

"Tenten, you shouldn't speak before you think," Neji chastised, "these two aren't on par with our anbu missions…they're worse."

"All of my Youthful students have agreed to join me in my morning training until the end of their shinobi lives!" Gai wiped an exaggerated tear from the corner of his eye, "this is truly a wonderful day!"

"What exactly have you signed us up for?..."

**Naruto, Kakashi, Yamato, and Shizune:**

"It's here!" Naruto rushed in the door where the three shinobi were gathered, waiting for him.

It was a routine that happened every month, on the day the letter arrived. Naruto would summon Kousuke to receive it, and then bring it over and inform the others.

The folded paper this time was surprisingly small, and Naruto had glanced at it briefly, finding it very short.

"What does it say?" Kakashi asked from his seat on the couch.

"Did he mention Konohamaru-kun's status?" Shizune asked, "has he become a chunin?"

"The Hokage's grandson?" Yamato wondered, "he's in Suna for the exams?"

"Yeah," Naruto frowned, "but Gaara didn't mention anything about him."

"I suppose it's time to start, then," Kakashi walked up to take the letter from his former student's hands, and opened it.

"It says 'the shed where you brought me, in five days. Jiraiya-san has already contacted the others'," he read. He looked up grimly, "I suppose this is it, then. I'll speak with Sandaime-sama."

"In five days?" Shizune frowned, "but there's still seven days until when we decided to be in Ame, and the travel is only a ten hours at most to the western borders. In fact, we could make it there in under three hours at full speed."

"We don't want to travel too quickly and tire ourselves out," Kakashi explained, "and it's difficult to travel with the ten of us. We have to also be careful not to draw attention to ourselves, and that means stopping along the way. Jiraiya-san also planned to teach you all how to use the Edo Tensei seals, so we'll have to make time for that as well."

"Ah," Shizune nodded, "I'll work on preparing my field medical kit and poison, then."

"I'll pack extra solider pills so that you can overwork me as usual," Yamato added.

"I'm going to rest for the next five days," Kakashi declared, "because it may be my last chance to do so for a while."

"And I should probably stock some Ichiraku Ramen in my stomach," Naruto, "because, well, who knows _when _I'll be able to have some again?"

**Orochimaru:**

"Orochimaru-senpai!"

The snake sannin looked up wearily from where he had been resting his head on the table of his room. As Itachi had said, he had never visited with 'orders' again, and the only people who visited were the Ame guards who brought food. Orochimaru was almost glad of it. Seeing the Uchiha's face had stirred up more negative emotions than he wished to feel, and his last gift was still a source of confusion. Every time someone entered, he had taken to sneaking a look at the loose patch of wood in the floor below which he had hidden the Blade of Kusanagi. It was all he had left, and he was not going to lose it.

"Tobi?" He asked, raising an eyebrow at the figure in the orange mask, "what are you doing here?" Orochimaru hadn't seen his cheerful former kohai in years, and he had assumed that the man had been rightfully thrown out of the organization. He would have never joined if it had not been for Zetsu's insistence.

"Tobi came to see how his senpai was doing!" The figure gushed, "Tobi has grown…attached to his senpai," he looked away with a finger delicately posed on his mask, clearly trying to looked demure, "will senpai elope with Tobi? Tobi will teach senpai how to become an Ultimate Escape Artist, and then Tobi and senpai can run away to Mizu no Kuni together and live in a small house by the sea!"

The snake sannin did not react, "if you've been allowed in here, then Pein-sama must have sent you," he stated carefully, "what is it? Does he have another project for me?"

"Orochimaru-senpai is strict as always," the figure visibly deflated as his love was heartlessly scored. He sighed and drew a small bottle from his Akatsuki cloak, "here, senpai. This is the project."

Wearily, Orochimaru reached out with thin fingers and clasped the bottle, drawing it back. He noted that Tobi felt somewhat of a reluctance in relinquishing his hold, but he didn't know why. Itachi would usually just leave them on the floor and silently take his leave.

Sighing, he spun the bottle around to peer at the small piece of paper stuck to one side. When his eyes skimmed over the name, he froze.

"H-how?" He breathed, fingers shaking slightly as he held the bottle.

"That is not in your right to ask, but I will give you months to work on this alone," Tobi replied, seeing his shock, "your work is to complete it and nothing more. I expect that this one will be especially perfect."

Orochimaru carefully set the bottle on the table, not even realizing when Tobi had changed his voice, or when he had left the room. He dreaded the thought of picking up a brush this time, dreaded the day when they would bring a nameless sacrifice into the room. He held his head in his hands, fingers tangling into his dark hair as the bottle sat innocently in front of him.


	34. The Ten Shinobi & Team Sakura

**Chapter 34 – The Ten Shinobi & Team Sakura**

"So this is it, then?" Sarutobi Hiruzen raised an eyebrow as he peered out from underneath the brim of his hat, "you are all going to face the leader of Ame and Uchiha Madara to retrieve the Rinnegan?"

"Yes, Sandaime-sama," Kakashi replied firmly, standing in front of the Hokage's desk, "we will succeed, and Pein will not come near Konoha."

"If anyone can do it, your team would be it," the Sandaime said dryly, "but do you have plans? I would provide you with my advisors in case you wanted to make anyone else aware of this, but I realize that you are already quite the strategist."

"Yes, we do," Kakashi nodded and took the rolls of paper from the Hokage's desk, "and once we go over these maps, we will have an invasion plan finished."

"Remember, I had received intel that the main tower is the tallest one, located slightly east of the centre of the village," he reminded, "head there, it is probably where you will find their leader."

"Understood, Sandaime-sama," Kakashi paused, "is there anything you can tell me about Uchiha Madara?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen frowned, "I only ever caught glimpses of him a few times," he admitted, "I was very young when he defected. Koharu-san might know more since I believe she spent more time talking with Nidaime-sama…but it probably isn't wise to ask her. She's a clever one, and too curious to simply tell you. Is there something troubling you, Kakashi-san?"

The masked jonin sighed, "Itachi…he told me that I was the only one who could defeat Madara. Maybe it is because of my Mangekyou…but I know nothing about him, and anyone who's perused a bingo book would know at least a little about me."

"It is strange indeed that he would say something like that to you," the Hokage said contemplatively, "but you are a strong shinobi, Kakashi-san, and you have other strong people by your side."

"I know," he sighed, "well, I just came to inform you that we were leaving soon. Do you have a back story for us?"

"I can say that I have given you and Naruto a special mission along with my anbu," he nodded, "no one will question it, and my squad is loyal only to the Hokage."

"Thank you, Sandaime-sama," Kakashi gave him a small smile underneath his mask, "I will be going now."

Sarutobi Hiruzen sighed, "I'm getting too old for this. Hurry back, Kakashi-san."

ooooo

"You know," Naruto began, "we need a name. I think we should call ourselves 'The Legendary Juunin!'"

Beside him, Tsunade turned to whack him on the head for his efforts, "oi! No knockoffs from our title!"

"That doesn't sound too bad, hime," Jiraiya joked, "I mean, with a name like that-"

"No."

Everyone turned to look at Gaara's expression of distaste and wisely dropped the topic.

"Where on earth is Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto whined, "he's past his three hour lateness limit!"

"Lateness…limit?" Utakata raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah. Sensei may be late, but he's never late in _being_ late," Naruto said sagely.

The were gathered outside the small shed where they had been called. Jiraiya had brought Gaara over from where he had been 'researching' in Suna. Yugito had collected B and Utakata and brought them into Hi no Kuni with fascinating speed. Naruto had left quietly, without waking Sasuke or Sakura. He knew that he would be back soon, so there was no need to worry them. Plus, they had recently gotten a new mission without him, and had been busily preparing their travel packs that morning go to their briefing with the Hokage.

Jiraiya leaned back against the outside wall, "so B, what did you leave for the Raikage this time?"

"Takin' a vacation by the sea with my students, yeah," was B's input. With all his seven swords strapped to his back, he didn't look prepared for vacation at all. Beside him, Utakata had left his Kumo shinobi uniform and was dressed once again in a blue kimono.

"I am no longer your student, B-san," Yugito informed him, "I am able to fully use the powers of my bijuu."

B's response was to reach over and pat her on the head, and she freely glared back. She had first studied under him as a ten year old child, and he didn't seem to ever regard her any differently, to her annoyance.

"One of these days Raikage-sama is going to snap," Utakata murmured, "Yugito's arrival seemed to be the only thing preventing from going mad the last time we left," he looked upwards at the morning sky, which was just beginning to light up, and smiled softly, "but this time, I'll bring my student Hotaru with me when I go back."

"The first thing he's going to ask is how many tails she has," Yugito muttered dryly, "once is lucky, twice is a coincidence, thrice is a pattern."

"Well, there don't seem to be any other Jinchuuriki available," Tsunade commented, "and if Naruto visits he'll never let him leave," she turned to Yamato, "you're Kakashi's anbu subordinate 'Yamato', right? Do you mind collecting your senpai for us?"

Yamato groaned, "why is it always me? Do I have a something written on my head that makes people want to give me work? Why am I carrying Naruto's pack anyway?" Naruto grinned up at him.

"Mou, no need for that," a voice emerged from between the trees, and they turned to see Kakashi walking towards them.

"Sensei, you're late!" Naruto accused, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Well, I ran into a pretty girl and she asked me to dance for her," he explained.

"Sakura-chan wanted to spar?" The blond boy asked dryly. He had excuse-guessing down to an art.

"…I pointed to Sasuke and ran," he explained, "as much as I _love _sparring with someone I can't let myself take a hit from, I didn't want to keep you all waiting for too long."

"That's my girl," Tsunade said proudly.

"Yeah," Jiraiya grumbled, "you were second only to me in annoying the hell out of Hiruzen-sensei. And he liked me better because I taught him how to perfect the fine art of onsen-peeking."

"Anyway," Kakashi held his hands up before they begin arguing, "Gaara and I will go over the basis of our plan," he walked over to stand by Gaara, facing the rest of them.

Everyone sobered down quickly, and even Naruto's ever-present grin slid off his face as he tried to be more serious. In reality, missions like this had 'expected casualties', but they couldn't afford to lose anyone. Gaara was a natural leader and Kakashi was a strategic thinker on par with Shikamaru, but they had to follow the plans closely if they wanted to reap the benefits.

"We will be in three main groups," Gaara began, looking over the eight of them, "the first group will be lead by me, and will consist of myself, B-san, Utakata-san, and Yugito-san."

"I assume we're going to be some type of offense group, then," Yugito spoke up.

"Yes," Kakashi nodded, "the four of you will serve as distractions and hold off any Edo Tensei they have summoned. Gaara's theory is that they have been using Edo Tensei to replace the Akatsuki members they have lost."

"Understood," Yugito said sharply, "leave that to us, then." Utakata and B also nodded in agreement from beside her. She and B were already experienced fighters with their bijuu, and Utakata had spent the last three years training himself to his limits, and had been a jonin level shinobi before.

"Since the majority of us are Jinchuuriki and heal quickly, our team will be the only one without a medic," Gaara added, "the second group will be lead by Kakashi-san, and will consist of him, Naruto, Yamato-san, and Shizune-san."

"Our goal will be to find Nagato's Six Paths of Pein," Kakashi added, "because Naruto is the only one who has fought him before. We will take them out and keep them distracted from the group that hunts his real body."

"And I'll use my Naruto Therapy on them," Naruto nodded, "because Nagato can still change. All he needs is a little proof that peace is possible."

"Sure," the masked jonin conceded, "but we want to preferably destroy them as well, just in case he changes his mind. According to Itachi, this Nagato has been with Uchiha Madara for the past few years. I don't know if that happened in the future, but it definitely changes things."

Naruto reluctantly nodded, feeling the weight of The Tales of a Gutsy Ninja in his pocket. Sure they would fight, but Nagato was a precious friend during his last moments, and he wouldn't forget that.

"However," Gaara added, "the one fighting will be Naruto, with Yamato providing backup and Shizune providing medical support. Kakashi-san has to save his chakra in case Uchiha Madara comes after you, seeing as Itachi apparently advised him to be the one to fight him."

"Understood," Yamato stated, feeling his nerves again. As one of Kakashi's 'minions', he had been spending a lot of time with the blond boy, and knew his fighting style well. Shizune nodded sharply, medical kit resting in her pack.

"The final group," Kakashi started, "will consist of Tsunade-san and Jiraiya-san. They will be heading to the main tower to locate and retrieve Nagato's real body. Jiraiya-san will be there because he knows Nagato well and can neutralize Konan's techniques, and Tsunade-san will help keep him alive, as Naruto has already told us of his condition."

"Sounds about right," the toad sage nodded, "it's been a while since I've worked with hime like this."

"Something tells me that I'm going to start missing that Orochimaru," Tsunade muttered, but she nodded at the plan, "alright. That sounds fine. I don't care what kind of brink of death this boy is on. As long as he's not bleeding, I'll keep him among the living."

"Good," Gaara glanced over the eight of them, "right now, we will be travelling to Sugi no Sato, a small village located near the western outskirts of Hi no Kuni. While we stay there, Kakashi and I will look over Hokage-sama's maps, and Jiraiya-san will teach us how to channel chakra into the seals we will use on the Edo Tensei. We should also decide on a travel formation," he added, "in case we are attacked on the way, or separated. We should travel in partners"

"Since I'm setting our pace, I'll be at the very front with B," Yugito declared. Beside her, the two other Kumo Jinchuuriki winced at her setting any kind of pace. B's muscles still remembered the speed they had travelled at while running to Konoha, it had been pure torture and he vaguely recalled having to pick up and carry an unconscious Utakata after the man had fainted from exhaustion. Kumo was well known for its speed, but Yugito combined speed with endurance to create a truly hellish combination.

"I'm not very fast," Utakata readily admitted, "I'll stay at the back with Gaara." The Suna boy nodded his assent. He always travelled more slowly due to the weight of his gourd.

"Me and Kakashi-sensei will be right behind Yugito nee-chan!" Naruto spoke up, "cause I'm all fired up and sensei is really fast!"

"Hime and I will travel with Naruto and Kakashi," Jiraiya offered, "she looks like she needs the exercise." Tsunade glared daggers.

Shizune and Yamato looked at each other, and then turned to Gaara, "we'll be with you at the back," Shizune told him.

"Well, that's settled," Kakashi finished, "remember, if this Madara appears _after _we find Nagato's body, then we're not going to fight him. We're going to run. Preferably fast. His goal is to get the Rinnegan eyes, and if we sees that we have Nagato he won't hesitate to simply kill him and take them."

"Except he already probably has an Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan, so he'll just want a Rinnegan for one eye and keep his Sharingan in the other," Naruto spoke up. His eyes flashed briefly as if in enlightenment, "he wants the Sharinnegan!"

"Does this kid's cheerfulness never run out?" Tsunade wondered out loud.

ooooo

Thankfully, Yugito loudly acknowledged that since there were some old people in the group – unsubtly pointing at Jiraiya – the pace she set would not be too fast. The toad sannin glared at her and loudly pointed out that Tsunade was the same age, and the others decided to start moving quickly before it escalated into another argument. They travelled silently at half speed, following the western river that led to Sugi no Sato.

In front of them, Yugito put out a hand, and flicked her arm upwards, signaling a stop. Behind her, the seven others who knew her well looked rather confused, wondering if something was wrong.

"There's a clearing by the river," she called out, "we'll break there." They watched as she leapt down from the branch and landed nimbly on the forest floor.

"A…_break_?" Tsunade spoke up, "you take _breaks_, Yugito? And there I thought we'd all have to beg on our knees…"

She raised an eyebrow and looked up at the older kunoichi who was still standing in the tree, "I've held a position as jonin squad leader since I was sixteen," she informed her, "I'm perfectly aware of how to best use my team's energy, and it's not by pushing them to their speed limits."

"Then why did you torture us with full speed on the way to Konoha?" Utakata asked, leaping down, "I think I fainted half way, but it's really all a blur," he winced as B patted him on the shoulder sympathetically.

"Because I knew that we were going to rest the moment we got near Konoha," she replied lightly, "this time, we're going to have the fight at the end of the trip, not rest. We need to conserve energy."

"A beneficial line of reasoning, Yugito-san," Gaara told her as he, Naruto, and Kakashi joined them on the riverbank, "we will break for fifteen minutes before continuing."

"I brought extra ration bars and soldier pills, if anyone wants any," Yamato offered, shrugging out of his travel pack.

"There's a good Kitten," Kakashi brightened, "pass me a ration bar."

"I would like one as well," Utakata spoke up.

"I'll have a ration bar," Shizune added.

"Food sound nice," Jiraiya grunted, stretching out his back from five hours of travel. They had gone through the trees, which was something he hadn't done in a while since he preferred to walk the old-fashioned way.

"Me too!"

"Don't give Naruto any," Kakashi advised, taking a bar out of the mokuton user's pack, "he just ate five cups of instant ramen for breakfast. His stomach is like a bottomless pit."

"Oi! I only ate four cups!" Naruto protested. Despite the fact that he was being denied food, there was a small smile on his face. He liked the fact that they were all working together, even if it was against a larger foe. These people from all around the world were getting along so easily, despite the fact that Kumo and Konoha still held antagonism from the previous war, and Kiri and Suna had only just formed an alliance from their previous position as military enemies.

"So," Yamato began, "how many more hours until we reach Sugi no Sato?"

"Around eight hours," Jiraiya answered, "we should be there by late evening." From his travels, he was familiar with many of the smaller villages that most people had never heard of, and knew the travelling times well.

Naruto went over to the river and put his hands in the water, reveling in its coolness. He brought the water up to wash away the light beginnings of sweat on his forehead, and turned back around to see the others sitting by the bank. Most of them had ration bars in their hands, and Kakashi and Gaara were discussing something, with one of the Sandaime's scrolls opened in front of them. Jiraiya and Tsunade were talking, and the slug sannin looked surprisingly _not_ annoyed while talking to her perverted teammate, which was a rarity. Seeing them all there made him miss his own teammates slightly, and he resolved to get back to them as quickly as possible.

Yugito stood up, her internal clock having counted off fifteen minutes. She stretched briefly to prepare for another long period of travel, her lean form moving with years of practice. Finally, she turned to look at the others, "Gaara-san, Kakashi-san, we will have to start now."

"Got it," Kakashi stood up and brushed himself off, absently leaving the wrapper of his ration bar balanced on Yamato's head, "break's over, then. Let's get to Sugi no Sato before dark."

ooooo

Back in Konoha, three figures stood in front of the Hokage's desk while the Sandaime peered out at them from underneath his hat.

"Haruno Sakura, this mission will be your probationary test as a jonin. Have you read over the mission report?" He asked, watching the pink haired girl.

"Yes, Sandaime-sama," Sakura nodded, "I understand fully. I have already briefed Sasuke, but I cannot find Naruto."

"Naruto will not be on your team this time. He has been taken out of the mission," the Sandaime confirmed, opening the drawer on one side of his desk. He retrieved the official mission specification document and handed it over to Sakura, who took it and read it over. It usually included some of the finer details that the mission reports left out for the sake of brevity.

"Sandaime-sama," she began again, "this mission requires us to deal with a team of missing-nin that have been plaguing a village in northern Hi no Kuni, would Naruto not be a good choice for a overt mission such as this that requires open combat?" She asked, paper held loosely in her hand. Sakura had become a jonin only a month ago, and was still on probation. While Sasuke had already led various A-ranks and B-ranks alike, this would be her first A-rank. She was slightly miffed that she didn't have Naruto's army of clones at her disposal; they made things much easier.

"Yes, but Naruto is currently out of the village on a different mission. It's slightly classified, which is why he probably did not inform you," the Hokage explained, "I would sent another chunin with you, but most of them are busy, and Naruto was taken off the mission at the last moment."

"Understood, Sandaime-sama," she nodded. Beside her, Sasuke raised an eyebrow. Naruto was on a classified mission? The only classified missions were usually given to anbu squads…

"Is Naruto working for the anbu?" He asked curiously. Sai twitched slightly, a little unnerved at how openly he was asking for classified information. Only someone like Sasuke could actually hope to get a response.

"I cannot tell you that," the Hokage replied, although it was obvious that it was true, "focus on your own mission, Sasuke."

"Wait," Sakura added quickly before Sasuke tried asking again, "we're going to be a four-man-squad, aren't we? But if Naruto is not available and most of the chunin are busy, who is the fourth person?" All shinobi apart from the anbu had to work in four man squads when dealing with missions higher than a B-rank, it was a village rule.

"Well," the Sandaime sighed, "this may seem a little redundant for a lower A-rank, but he offered, stating that he was bored, and I'm afraid he's the only one I could get on such short notice after Naruto and Kakashi left."

"Who?" She questioned, not understanding. Redundant? Was this going to be someone really powerful from the anbu?

"Well-"

"I have arrived!" A loud voice declared from behind them. The three of them turned sharply to see a familiar figure in green tights standing in the doorway, "I am prepared to embark on this Most Youthful Journey with my Eternal Rival's students!"

"Gai-san," the Sandaime spoke up, "will be the fourth member of your four-man squad."

He was way more than what she expected. Sure he was strange to the extreme, but from what she had heard Kakashi murmur to the memorial when she and Sasuke would seek him out for being late, Maito Gai was also an extremely strong jonin. In fact, there were rumors that he could open seven of the Eight Gates. That was enough to make any taijutsu user drool. If you pushed it _really _hard, it could probably even excuse the lack of fashion sense.

"Yosh! This will be a most Youthful mission, Sandaime-sama!"

"I'm glad you approve," the Sandaime added dryly, "you four will be setting out immediately, because you need to be there by morning. Your mission time is two days, but I expect you to be back in Konoha by tomorrow evening, seeing as your team's skills more than match the requirements of the mission rank."

"I will make sure that we are back by tomorrow afternoon, no, noon," Gai promised.

"Er, Gai-sensei," Sakura began, "um…I'm the captain for this team." She felt slightly awkward saying that to an experienced jonin.

He took it well, flashing her a smile that was blindingly bright and a thumbs-up, "ah, so the Youthful Cherry Blossom of Konoha is leading her very first A-rank! I will make sure to aid you in making this mission a great success!" Those weren't empty words. She was sure that if she had someone like Gai on her team, it would be an absolute shame if they _didn't _finish perfectly.

She smiled back tentatively, and heard Sasuke's long suffering sigh beside her. The Uchiha boy had a grudging acceptance of the man's skill, but he had quickly developed an aversion for green during the months Gai and Lee had spent training with them.

"Well, we'll start then, Sandaime-sama," she bowed her head slightly. This was going to be an easy mission.

ooooo

"So…why aren't we using a henge?" Naruto asked Kakashi, who was spreading the maps over the floor of their shared inn room, "I mean, people recognize you pretty easily."

"There are too many of us," he replied, "henges would be incredibly confusing. Besides, I stop in villages during mission travels all the time, and the people of Hi no Kuni are used to seeing shinobi."

"We'll have to be more covert once we enter Ame though, won't we?" They turned to see Utakata standing in the doorway, one hand resting on its frame. He walked into the room and kneeled down beside Naruto, smoothing his blue kimono away from the paper on the floor.

"No," Kakashi replied absently, one finger trailing the map, "Naruto has already told us that it is impossible to infiltrate Ame. Your team will be in charge of distraction, which means that you don't need any disguises."

"But what if Pein comes after us instead?" The former Kiri nin questioned.

"We're going to be very obvious with our tactics, Utakata-san," the masked jonin replied, "my team will pretend to be the ones infiltrating the tower, and we will go first. Pein will realize immediately that you are playing as a distraction, and will send his Akatsuki after you while he comes after us himself. When we have him engaged and distracted, Jiraiya and Tsunade will perform the true infiltration."

"Ah," Utakata nodded, "I see."

"Aren't you supposed to be in Ero-Sennin's room?" Naruto questioned, "I thought he was teaching you how to use the seals for the Edo Tensei?"

"Yes," he nodded, "I've leant it."

"That quickly?" Naruto raised an eyebrow.

"Well, I'm a natural low-chakra type, and I have a high level of control," Utakata explained, "so although I wouldn't be a very good fuuinjutsu master, it's easy for me to channel the right amounts of chakra into the seals."

"Ah," Kakashi nodded, "yes, that would be true. Who else is there with Jiraiya-san?"

"He's teaching B and Yugito and Yamato," he explained, "Yugito's finding it difficult. She told me that she was chosen to become a Jinchuuriki because both her parents are high-chakra types, and her control isn't the best," he smiled slightly, "I think it infuriates her a little. She idolizes Tsunade-sama, you know, and Tsunade-sama has ridiculously detailed chakra control."

"Well, she's a Senju," the masked jonin said dryly, "they're known for having large reserves _and _good control. There aren't too many around any more, though."

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked, slightly curious, "Tsunade baa-chan doesn't have relatives?"

"Well, there weren't too many Senju left by the time Shodai Hashirama married and most married into other clans," he explained, "so he was one of the very few who could pass on his name. He married Uzumaki Mito, and they didn't have many surviving children, apart from Tsunade-san's father and the rather contorted family tree line that leads to you, Naruto."

"I'm…descended from the Shodai?" Naruto wondered.

"Well, I don't really know," Kakashi admitted, "you could be, or you could be a relative of his wife."

"Talking about my family?" They turned to see Tsunade standing in the door, with Shizune behind her, "bunch of old history. Hashirama-jiji is still my favorite person, but mostly because he taught me how to gamble," she grinned, "I learnt from the best, there wasn't a luckier man alive."

"I guess you make up for his luck, then," Kakashi muttered.

"Tsunade baa-chan is my _real _baa-chan," Naruto announced to Utakata.

"…That's fascinating," the Kiri nin replied, not knowing what to say to that.

"Anyway," the slug sannin interrupted, walking in to sit cross-legged next to Kakashi while Shizune sat by the edges of the paper, "we only have to wait for Jiraiya and Gaara and his students, and then we can listen to your entry plans," she tapped the paper of the map.

"Gaara and I already decided how our two teams will be entering," Kakashi replied, "but you and Jiraiya-san will be going in inside one of the toads. He's assured me that he can anchor them to any body of water within Ame."

"Hmm, I've seen him use that," Tsunade nodded, "you wouldn't think, but he's quite the infiltration expert when he tries. All those years of onsen peeking supposedly accounted for something after all."

"You should be extra careful then, Tsunade baa-chan," Naruto advised, "I've told him about his death in the future, and even though it's not going to happen this time Ero-Sennin is developing a 'seize the day' mindset."

"So why should I be careful?" She raised an eyebrow at him.

"Aren't you sharing a room?" Naruto asked. Smaller inns like the one they were staying in didn't have many rooms, and most of them were larger rooms meant for travelling families.

"Why on earth would I be sharing a room with him? Just because we used to be teammates…" she muttered, "he's staying with Gaara. I'm staying with Shizune."

"Then who is Yugito-san sharing with?" Kakashi asked, looking up from where he was kneeling over the map.

"The mokuton user, Yamato," she replied lightly.

"I should warn him, then," the masked jonin muttered, "he sleepwalks. I'll tell you the story about how I found that out back in anbu. When you're older, of course."

"Then wouldn't you warn Yugito nee-san?" Naruto questioned, "sleepwalking shinobi are dangerous. They could attack you while sleeping."

"Yugito is very…strict about her sleeping schedule," Tsunade explained, "if he wakes her up, there will be hell to pay."

"Who's waking me up?" They turned to see more figures in the doorway. Yugito was peering at the other kunoichi curiously.

"No one," Kakashi said quickly, "Jiraiya-san, are you finished teaching them?"

The toad sannin nodded, "B, Gaara, and Yamato managed to pick it up. Yugito still needs some practice, but it might be easier for her in battle when she has less chakra." The blond kunoichi bit her lip in frustration, but stayed quiet.

"Well come in," he waved, "we'll show you where we're planning on entering…"

As the five figures filtered into the room, Kakashi and Gaara began to point out the structure of the map. There wasn't just one, but the jonin had carefully torn them and arranged them so that all the pieces were somewhat put together in a rough approximation. He began with the entrance to Ame, which was a highly guarded main gate. Gaara's team would be heading through it, and would incapacitate the guards if they weren't allowed entry. The only other entrance was a smaller gate near the northern side, and it was only known due to a Konoha shinobi who had managed to escape through it in the last war, and was otherwise hidden. Kakashi's team would head through this.

Once Naruto had engaged Pein, Jiraiya would activate his toad infiltration technique to appear with Tsunade inside a pond, and would head directly to the main tower from there.

"Is everything clear?" Kakashi said after finishing. Eight determined faces stared back at him and nodded firmly.

"Good," Gaara stood up, "then I would suggest that we all rest. There will be no breaks tomorrow, we will begin at three-am and travel at quarter speed for two hours before reaching Ame."

"Got it," Tsunade nodded. She looked towards Shizune, and they both stood up to leave to head to their own room. In the hallway, she paused suddenly with a pensive look.

"Shizune, where did you leave Tonton?" She asked, "is she with Sakura? That girl always forgets to feed her on time…"

"Sakura was preparing for a mission. But you don't need to worry, Tsunade-sama. Tonton is safe with a friend," the dark-haired iryounin replied with a fond smile.

ooooo

Less than three kilometers from where the ten shinobi were sleeping, two figures were sitting in the middle of a clearing. Between them was a small fire, which the larger figure was feeding by throwing in more wood.

"Who knew?" Hoshigaki Kisame grinned, "that you could actually perform ninjutsu beyond your silly Ultimate Escape Skills?" He looked at the fire appreciatively, "it's almost like it was back with Itachi." His teeth were ominously pale against the darkness of his blue skin in the firelight as he looked up at his Akatsuki partner.

"Tobi can do katon jutsu," the masked figure sitting across the fire said proudly.

"Yes, Itachi once told me that the Goukakyu was a jutsu taught to the Uchiha young ones," Kisame went on in his signature wavering voice, "how did you learn it?"

"Um…that's Tobi's secret," the other Akatsuki member declared, "Tobi will carry it to his grave!"

"Fine, fine. Since you've made us this nice fire, we'll rest here for a few more minutes before continuing," Kisame decided.

Konan-sama had given him his mission the previous day, and he had been sent out with Tobi on short notice. At first, he had dreaded being paired with the Akatsuki's most annoying member. He had grown used to Uchiha Itachi, with his unreadable expression and general lack of communication. But he had to admit that it had gotten quite dull sometimes. Tobi was different, he was always talking and despite the annoyance, Kisame found that it was somewhat interesting.

They had stopped to take a rest only, prepared to travel east through the night and then sleep in an inn during the daytime when they reached the next small village. As soon as they stopped, Tobi had begun to pool together a pile of logs and then, to Kisame's surprise, had used Itachi's katon jutsu to light the fire.

"Konan-sama gave me an interesting mission this time," he continued, "I guess she must have rethought my words from all those months ago."

"Pein-sama is so thoughtful," Tobi spoke up happily, "and Tobi will help his senpai make the mission a success!"

"What can you _do_, anyway?" Kisame raised one nonexistent eyebrow as he grinned, "seeing as running away _isn't _the only thing you're capable of." He reached forward to toss another twig in the fire, and observed it as it lit up in flames. Even though he was almost cold blooded, warmth felt nice on a cold night like this.

"Tobi can do space-time ninjutsu," the figure replied proudly, "would Kisame-senpai like to try?"

"Try what?" The amused look was replaced by curiosity. Usually, space-time ninjutsu was only possible to those who had mastered a few elements, so Tobi had to have quite the katon jutsu arsenal. Maybe his partner wasn't so useless after all.

"Try running Tobi through with Samehada-san," Tobi told him matter-of-factly, "Samehada-san will pass through."

Without second thoughts, the other Akatsuki member did just that. Within milliseconds, the bandaged Samehada was off his back, and headed right for Tobi's chest. Just as he had said, the sword went directly through, not having encountered any resistance at all. Kisame tilted his head and withdrew the sword, now fascinated.

"That's…strange. I've never heard of space-time jutsu that makes attacks pass right through…" He trailed, now watching his partner curiously.

When Tobi had first joined, he had of course though that there was _something _special about him. Good boy or no, Pein-sama and Leader would not allow him to join if he wasn't at least as powerful as the others. Eventually, his stupid actions had made Kisame genuinely doubt that, but now it seemed that he had been right after all.

Tobi merely sat across the fire, seeming to be brimming with pride for having impressed his new senpai.

ooooo

"When is he going to be here?" Sasuke hissed, looking around from where he was leaning against the outer walls of Konohagakure.

"He said he's just getting his pack, he'll be here," Sakura told him, "we're used to waiting, remember? We're Kashi-sensei's students."

"Yeah, well I don't like him," Sasuke declared, "he's like an overgrown green Naruto."

"Well considering how you really feel about Naruto, I'm not worried at all. He's one of Kashi-sensei's closest friends, so we'll have to learn how to be friends with him too," Sakura announced. She turned to Sai, "Sai, do you have our tents?"

"I do," Sai smiled, "and I also see Green Tights-san coming."

The three of them turned to see that Maito Gai was heading for them at a run. He kept on running until he was inches in front of Sakura's face, and then stopped all of a sudden and gave her a thumbs up. In his arms was…

"Ready to go, taicho!" He declared. She was momentarily blinded by his smile, and had to squint.

"Um…why are you bringing Tonton?" Sakura questioned, looking at the small pig who was slowly suffocating in Gai's hold.

"Because the Beautiful and Radiant Shizune-san is out of the village with her Tsunade-sama," Gai informed me, "and she entrusted the care of her beloved pet to me."

"Ah…alright," Sakura nodded, "I suppose Tonton can come. She's a tracker, after all. She'll always be able to find us, at least…"

"We're taking a pig on the mission?" Sasuke asked. He walked over to stand between her and the other jonin, and raised a finger to poke at Tonton's pink snout, "do you talk too? Like Kakashi-sensei's dogs?" The pig glared back at him with all the hatred she could manage.

"No, she's technically just a normal pig, but she's got a really good sense of smell," Sakura explained, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly, "um, I think we should start now." She really needed to learn this new 'captain' act.

"Yes, Sakura-taicho," Sai agreed, swinging his larger pack onto his shoulder and starting out in front of them to act as a scout. Sakura smiled at the address. Sometimes, Sai could be a good boost to the ego.

They travelled for a good seven hours at a nice, medium pace that Sai set. Sakura and her fukutaicho stayed in the middle of the formation while Gai brought up the rear with an incredibly uncomfortable Tonton that he was holding upside down.

When they finally decided to break for the night, Sai set out to find a clearing in the middle of the forest. The three of them wearily jumped off their branches, feeling somewhat tired from the hours of running, unlike-

"Yosh! I am still filled with energy," Gai declared, "I will do one hundred push-ups to make up for it." He dropped to the ground immediately and began to do just that. The relieved Tonton quickly pattered away from him and settled by Sakura's leg. She absently ran a hand over Tonton's skin, feeling the pig shiver in delight at being petted properly. It was sweet how Gai really tried to care for Shizune's pet properly, but he was not an animal person in any way. They all watched in interest as he managed to finish his exercise in under three minutes, and pulled out a towel from his pack to wipe practically nonexistent sweat from his forehead.

"Ch. Taijutsu types," Sasuke muttered, settling down with his back to a tree as Sai began to set up their tents.

"You should look into some more taijutsu training," Sakura advised, sitting down beside him, "I mean, you could get soft," she poked at his arm.

"Sasuke-kun won't ever get soft," Sai informed them with his eerie smile, "according to my book, he is the type whose heart is always as hard as ice."

"Wrong book," Sasuke spoke up, "that's from your relationship book," at this point, both he and Sakura had perused all his social interaction manuals intensely, and had ripped out all the pages which made little to no sense, "she was talking about my form. Which will also _never _get soft."

"My relationship book gives wonderful advice on friendship as well," Sai stated, locking the tent poles together. He reached into his pack to pull out the cloth, "I use its advice quite frequently while interacting with friends."

"That explains things," Sasuke muttered.

"-for example, it advised me to give you roses to celebrate when you made jonin, because roses are the flowers which hold the most meaning."

"Yes, and when you showed up at my door at ten in the night with a bouquet of roses, I was ecstatic," Sasuke replied dryly, stretching out his legs, "it wasn't weird at all."

"Roses hold the most meaning?" Gai spoke up, sounding confused, "and I had always thought that sunflowers were the most Youthful of plants…" He pulled the small towel away and sat with his back against one of the tent poles, watching Sai curiously.

"According to my book, roses relay the giver's passionate feelings with the bright color of their petals," the pale boy explained, "so they are the perfect flower to give anyone."

At this, Gai looked absolutely fascinated.

"No, Sai," Sasuke said with a world-weary sigh, "thisis not 'passionate feeling'. This is friendship. Next time you can bring me a basket of tomatoes. Preferably smaller, and tree-ripened."

"So you're the one who brings Shizune-senpai the sunflowers," Sakura observed. She remembered seeing the bright yellow flowers soaking up water in a vase in Shizune's apartment. Somehow she had picked up that her senpai was seeing someone and that Gai was conveniently at the hospital rather often, but she'd never actually asked about it. Shizune was rather easy to embarrass. Inner Sakura grinned when she realized that Gai was probably impossible to embarrass. You could string him up naked at the top of the Hokage's Tower and he'd rant on how his manly figure truly conveyed his love for his village.

"Why would Gai-sensei bring Shizune-san flowers?" Sasuke wondered. Due to the complete blind eye he turned to rumors and his general lack of interest in romance, he was clueless.

"Indeed, Sunflowers are the symbol of the Springtime of Youth," he nodded, "although roses seem like an interesting choice as well…"

"I think Shizune prefers the sunflowers, actually," Sakura told him with a grin, "you'd just embarrass her with roses. I mean, she's spent most of her life travelling with Tsunade-sama, and that doesn't provide many opportunities for relationships. People shouldn't take social advice from books. Just give me and Sasuke another year with Sai and we'll kick the emotions back into him."

"I do not think emotions work like that," Sai informed her, finishing setting up the second tent, "or else Sasuke-kun and Naruto-kun would be very emotional people from all the times you have physically assaulted them."

Sasuke glared at him, and then turned to his other teammate, "you're right, but he hasn't been improving fast enough. I think we should _take matters into our own hands_."

"No need for that," she said brightly, "I mean, he already no longer gives people nicknames, and he can last at least ten minutes without saying something weird."

"I prefer it when Sasuke-kun finds what I say weird-"

"And when did you start calling me Sasuke-kun?!"

"-because he is much more entertaining this way," Sai gave them his typical bland smile.

"Buhi!" Tonton added passionately.

"Kakashi certainly has strange students," Gai muttered thoughtfully, "but I suppose this, too, is part of the Springtime of Youth."

"Ch. Let's see how entertaining you find it when-"

Sakura pulled her fukutaicho back down roughly, "we're going to have to work on your apathy, Sai," she said pensively.

"I am apathetic to his apathy," Sasuke muttered between gritted teeth.

"Your team dynamics are very interesting," Gai spoke up, "is this how it always is, Sakura?"

"Yes," she gave him a sheepish smile, "but they work great together, so there's nothing to worry about," she tilted her head to one side, "we're not a specialized team like your taijutsu team or Kurenai-sensei's tracker team, so teamwork is especially hard to coordinate. The fact that they can manage it means that they really are friends."

"Indeed," Sai nodded, "according to my book, Sasuke-kun and I are wonderful friends."

"Sakura, I think we should take another look through that thing…"

"No I think we should focus on getting to sleep," Sakura stated, standing up and making her way over to the first tent that had been set up, "we need to be back in Konoha by tomorrow evening, after all." She dug into her pack for a ration bar, and peeled the cover off, holding it out to Tonton. The pig usually didn't eat food like this, but it was the only thing available. Sensing that, Tonton reluctantly took the bar in her mouth.

"Yosh, Sakura-taicho!" Gai said enthusiastically, and turned to head inside the other tent. She appreciated his attempts to make her feel like the one leading, but it sounded strange coming from someone who had been a jonin for longer than she had been able to walk.

"Wait," Sasuke stilled, "those are double tents," he said to her quietly.

"Yes, I can see that," she replied, picking up Tonton, who would probably want to sleep near her, "go sleep."

"Kakashi-sensei may be a quiet sleeper, but Gai-sensei could be as bad as Naruto. Maybe he _snores_," he postulated sagely, "so I think we should make Sai share with him. That boy sleeps like the dead."

"I'm not breaking in a new tent partner," she said dryly, "and there are separate sheets anyway. Naruto was just a little…overly cuddly, that's all."

He narrowed his eyes in frustration, "if I had asked five years ago you would have been all over-"

"Well I'm five years wiser, _Sasuke-kun_," she told him sweetly, "so have fun sharing with Gai-sensei."

Uchiha Sasuke groaned.


	35. The Final Project & The Crying Land

**Chapter 35 – The Final Project & The Crying Land**

_One month ago, the cells below the main tower of Ame:_

As the slight creak of the door echoed through his small room, Orochimaru shifted. He had fallen asleep with his head in his arms a few hours ago; it could have been during the night, but he never knew because there were no windows. When he realized that the door had opened, he wearily raised his head, allowing long hair that was growing darker as time passed to fall around his face. In his hand, he clutched the scroll he had finished a few hours ago.

This time, he had not expected the people standing in the doorway. Of course, Pein-sama never came himself, but he was expecting Kisame or Itachi. Not these two. Especially not the plant one.

"Oh! Orochimaru-senpai is awake!" A familiar masked figure rushed into the room, and went for the scroll in his hand. Orochimaru unconsciously held it tighter, slightly hesitant to give it up.

"_He is finished," _White Zetsu spoke up, striding in and closing the door behind him. His green leaves and Tobi's orange mask gave the washed out room the first hints of bright color that it had seen in days.

"Take it, then," the snake sannin decided to finally let go of the scroll, and threw it at Tobi, inwardly feeling the first enjoyment he had felt in years when it crashed into his mask. The other Akatsuki member had not been expecting it, and the orange swirl slipped slightly before he adjusted it. But he had tilted his head forward slightly while pushing it back, and that had been enough for him to reveal two things. The first was that Tobi's left socket was empty. He had been blinded somehow. The second was the red glint in Tobi's right eye.

The Sharingan.

Orochimaru's dormant intellect shot into life at this. It had been a Sharingan, he was sure of it. This idiotic fruitcake had just revealed that he had Itachi's doujutsu. His forehead crinkled, and he wondered what he could do.

Above all, he needed to leave this place. No matter how many years they kept him here, no matter how hopeless it was to regain his former abilities, Orochimaru of the Sannin was nothing if not resourceful and resilient_. _He had to get out somehow, and that meant that he couldn't die while he was here. He had spent years researching how to extent his lifespan because he _didn't want to die. _

If he had been one of those brave idiots like his former teammates, maybe he could have destroyed the small bottle they had given him, and refused to do it. Pein-sama would have killed him, but he would have gone out in silent rebellion. He couldn't do that, because he was neither brave nor idiotic. Instead, he had decided to put his head down and wait.

But they couldn't kill him as long as he finished the projects. He knew that he was indispensable for that purpose, no one else could continue his work apart from – maybe – Tsunade or Jiraiya; Tsunade because of her bloodline and Jiraiya because of his fuuinjutsu skills. Neither of them would ever work for the Akatsuki, so the Edo Tensei would die with him. Pein-sama was only making use of the fact that he wanted to stay alive.

So he could say or do anything he wanted without fear as long as he finished the projects.

That was why he narrowed his eyes at Tobi, and silently reminded him with the look in his eyes that he was the _Snake Sannin, _and the stupid masked man had been wrong to forget it. Even without his jutsu, his mind was powerful enough to pose a threat.

"You have a Sharingan," Orochimaru observed sharply.

"**He saw it," **Black Zetsu rasped out, one eye widening in interest.

"Silly senpai, Tobi's eyes are naturally red," the masked figure giggled, and shot a somewhat peeved look at his companion's black half.

"Zetsu just confirmed it," Orochimaru went on, "you have a Sharingan in one eye, and the other is empty. You usually don't allow it to show, which means that you are able to deactivate it. I know from Jiraiya that his student's student with the transplanted Sharingan is unable to deactivate it because it is foreign. But you don't have an implant. You are an Uchiha." He kept his eyes narrowed as he watched the figure contemplatively.

At this, Tobi rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, "Orochimaru-senpai has found Tobi's most private secret, Tobi is so embarrassed…"

Zetsu merely looked on in interest. He seemed slightly amused, like an old man watching a child figure out how bees pollinated a flower.

"Uchiha Tobi," the Snake sannin went on, "who exactly are you? Itachi killed his entire clan that night. You don't have an eye…did you fight back against him, then? Or manage to escape somehow?" He had a hard time picturing the self-proclaimed Ultimate Escape Artist facing off against Uchiha Itachi himself, but he wasn't going to disregard any hints. The fact that this idiot had just revealed a Sharingan eye meant that there was more to him than there seemed to be.

"Hehehe, Orochimaru-senpai overestimates Tobi…"

"**Or underestimates,"** Black Zetsu seemed to be enjoying himself.

"_Tell him everything, Tobi, and then let me eat him." _White Zetsu added, half of his mouth turning upwards in a grin.

At this, Orochimaru stilled. Maybe he had been wrong. Maybe this latest project was his very last, and they didn't need him anymore. In that case, he had just made his own situation worse by questioning things. This was the typical situation of the powerful enemy shinobi would who tell his plans to his captive before…his fingers frantically inched to reach for Kusanagi and protect himself, but he knew it would be futile.

"No," he spat out, "I don't want to know. Keep your secrets to yourself, I'm not interested in them." His curiosity burned hot, but his self-preservation burned hotter.

Tobi bent down to pick up the scroll that had been thrown at him, handling it with almost loving care. He slowly rolled it out, and observed the black markings. The reverse circular base with the fuuin symbols spiraling outward, all stroked out in the snake sannin's elegant brushwork. He turned to Zetsu, giving him an imperceptible nod.

The plant like Akatsuki member turned back to Orochimaru, _"we will test it. We expect something greater than the failure you drew up with the Shodai Hokage all those years ago. If it does not work perfectly the first time, we will assume you made a careless error, and you can draw it again. If it doesn't work the second time…"_

He let the threat hang, and Orochimaru was secretly happy that his research had always been perfect.

ooooo

Early the next morning, when the sun had barely just began to peek out of heavy clouds, four figures looked upon the main gates of Amegakure. The rain poured down on them and stuck their hair to their heads and their clothes to their bodies, but they stood tall within the downpour. At the front was a stern looking kunoichi, who had her blond hair slicked back into a tight ponytail at the base of her neck, the length wrapped in ties that would best survive the ever-present droplets falling down on her.

"We wish to enter," she spoke loudly.

The two guards at the outermost gates looked on in confusion at her, and the three figures behind her. Of the three, one was heavily muscled, and had various swords strapped almost haphazardly to his back. Another was tall and thin, a loose blue kimono turned almost see through as it was wet with rain, and clinging to the bare skin underneath. Something that looked like a bamboo cylinder was tucked into the front waistband of his pants. The third figure was a younger boy, who looked only halfway through his teens but watched them with eyes that were far older. He wore red robes with a strangely large gourd strapped to his back. The opening of the gourd was blocked by a stopper, preventing the rain from flowing inside.

"Foreign shinobi are not allowed to enter Amegakure," the first guard replied, eyeing the hitai-ite that three of them were wearing very openly, "and civilians are only permitted if they have a pre-approved trading license," he nodded to Utakata, who didn't wear his village symbol anywhere.

"Are you going to let us enter, or do we have to make you let us?" Yugito said airily, giving the man a smirk.

The guards paused, feeling fear creep up inside them. Without thinking twice they turned to run inside and gather backup to hold off these strange shinobi. Before they could take a step, both of them felt a light pinprick at the back of their necks, and collapsed where they were standing.

"That will keep them paralyzed for a few hours," Yugito commented, allowing her long claws to return to normal, "but the sentries sitting in the gatehouse behind heard us. If they're smart, they'll sound an alarm instead of coming out to deal with us themselves."

"Well, I believe the alarm has been sounded," Gaara commented, hearing the ringing noise begin, "we'll have to break in, then."

"And head for the tower, I'm gettin' a shower, kono yaro," B added, water droplets running down his face. He turned to Yugito, "and when you're wet, the show's set, baka yaro."

"Really? The fate of the future depends on this and _that's _the first thing on your mind, B-san?" Utakata asked wearily as Yugito huffed and tried to adjust her shirt.

"Let's go," she instructed, turning back, "hopefully their leader will stop this stupid rain before we begin fighting."

Two minutes later, there were casually walking through the giant hole made in the wall of Ame. In front of them stood ten Ame guards with their tanto drawn.

ooooo

"I hate this rain!" Naruto declared, pushing wet yellow hair out of his face, "I absolutely hate it!" He tucked himself further into the dent in the tree, keeping hidden from the view of the wall. Yamato stood next to him, wincing at the volume of his voice and trying without success to prevent his thin shirt from sticking to him due to the rain. His senpai's student was really unsuited to covert missions.

"You're not the only one," Kakashi added. His white hair was plastered against his head and over the strip of cloth he wore in lieu of a hitai-ite to cover his left eye, and he had left his jonin flak jacket behind, wearing only his standard issue combat pants and the blue shirt that merged into his mask. Beside him was Shizune, her eyes set on a small wristwatch.

"Now," she looked up, "it's been fifteen minutes."

"Let's go, then," the masked jonin stepped out from his hiding spot, "it's best if we climb. The entrance is long grown over, and it's probably merged into the rest of the wall by now. I'm willing to bet that it hasn't been used since the war," he looked up thoughtfully at the stone wall which surrounded Ame, hiding it from view as if it was some kind of fortress. Konoha had no need for a full wall because of the mountainous area that towered over half the city, but Ame was located on flat ground surrounded by sparse forest on one side and marshes on the other. Kakashi's team was going in from the northern side while Gaara's team headed in through the eastern main gate.

"Why not just blow it down, sensei?" Naruto inquired, looking genuinely confused, "that would be a lot faster, especially since we have to target Pein as quickly as possible so that the rain stops and Gaara can use his sand."

"You…really don't understand the word 'covert' do you?" Kakashi sighed, "just follow me, I'll go up first and check if the area is clear."

"What if there are people around?" Shizune questioned.

"Well, there shouldn't be," he replied, "it's still early in the morning. If there's only one or two, I'll deal with them." With that, he coated one foot with chakra and began to climb, muscles flexing under wet cloth as he gripped the stone.

Naruto, Yamato and Shizune watched as he went up, although looking up into the falling rain slightly made everything seem blurry. It wasn't a long climb, only a few meters up. He stopped once he reached the top and peered over, the top of his white hair being the only thing visible to the other side. He then turned back to wave them over.

"I guess it's clear," Yamato muttered, following his senpai up the wall. He had left his Nidaime-style hitai-ite, and his brown hair fell wet against his face.

They leapt over the other side and landed on the ground. In front of them were the backs of what seemed like food places, judging by the garbage bags and smell of rotten food and broken shochu bottles. No one was within sight, but there were faint noises of talking and laughter from inside the small buildings. Kakashi turned to them.

"According to the map, this section seems like some sort of market area from the widely set buildings and long streets," he began, "so we can try to blend in with the civilians as we go towards the main tower."

At that moment, loud ringing noises began to fill the streets. Shizune and Naruto winced and covered their ears. They stood still as eight loud pulses rang out through the air before the noise stopped.

"I suppose they're in," Yamato commented, "we can always make sure by asking the civilians what the ringing was for."

"Yes," Kakashi nodded, "but first let's move out of here. The smell has just made its way through my mask," his nose crinkled up under the cloth and he quickly moved into the alley between the buildings, the other three following.

The streets of Ame were rather unremarkable. They were dull and wet, and the few people who were actually out this early were making their way out of the sake places and gambling houses where they had spent the night, walking under the overhanging ceilings that the stores provided to avoid the rain. A few others had stopped and were looking up at the sky worriedly after hearing the ringing of the alarm.

The only interesting thing was the large statue set on a base in the middle of the wide street, depicting the figure of a tall woman with wings. It looked almost as if it was made of paper, but the rain did nothing to harm it.

One particular man was standing still near the entrance of the building they had just come out behind, fingers clasped as if in prayer as he looked across at the paper figure.

Kakashi decided to approach him. He walked up and was close enough to reach out for, but the man didn't notice him until he gently tapped his shoulder with one finger.

The Ame civilian turned sharply at that, and took in the wet figure with more than half his face covered. His eyes seemed to flit to Kakashi's forehead, as if checking for a hitai-ite, before relaxing slightly when there was none.

"Hello," the masked jonin began, "I was wondering if you knew what the ringing meant?" That alone was probably terribly suspicious, but they weren't _really _trying to be covert, only _seeming _to try.

"The alarm is only for the shinobi. Eight rings, there's an intruder," the man said quickly, "but there's nothing to fear, you know. Pein-sama will take care of anyone foolish enough to enter our village without permission. It happens every few months," It seemed that the shinobi and the civilians in the village were very separate, since he didn't even think to consider that they could be shinobi in disguise.

"Pein-sama?" Naruto spoke up, walking forward to stand beside his sensei, "he'll really come out to deal with them himself?"

"I don't know," the man admitted, "you two must be new here. Trading license?"

"What's a-"

"Yes," Kakashi interrupted before the blond boy could finish the question, "we've been permitted entry to sell our…wooden sculptures."

"Ah," the man's shoulders relaxed slightly. The people of Ame didn't seem to be too bright, considering that he would talk to new people after had _just _stated that there were intruders. Then again, he did seem to be slightly hung-over from where he had apparently spent the night in a questionable establishment. "You can make good money here if you sell figures of our Angel."

"Is that the lady depicted by that paper statue?" Shizune questioned, pointing towards the statue set on the stone base.

"Yes," the Ame man had a soft smile on his face, "she is our Angel, who looks over our village," he turned to look at them, "I would suggest heading back to your places. If you stay out during the night, people will think you're all as drunk as I am," he laughed briefly and then coughed.

Yamato winced as the man turned to leave, turning to their team captain. Kakashi was looking towards the statue thoughtfully, water dripping out of his hair. He turned back and motioned for them to continue down the street. The tower was still three kilometers away.

They walked down beneath the shelter of the overhanging ceilings. Shizune wrung the water out of her sleeves while Yamato smoothed all his hair back out of his forehead, looking surprisingly similar to a drowned cat. Naruto ignored his dripping jacket, figuring that it would dry soon when the rain stopped. He was the first one to notice a certain wonderful smell.

"Kakashi-sensei," he turned to the masked jonin, "you know how fighting has to be done on a full stomach? And how I haven't eaten anything since yesterday evening?"

"Are you referring to the small shop over there?" he raised an eyebrow, "I suppose that sounds right. If we were really infiltrating, the first thing we would do would be to question the locals. Seeing as this Pein-sama apparently knows everything that goes on in the village, he will know that we're asking around."

"…we're going to eat meat buns?" Shizune asked in a harsh whisper, "while in hostile ground? Kakashi-san!"

"Don't worry," he told her, "we have a poisons expert on our side."

"I wasn't exactly worried about them being poisoned," she muttered, reluctantly following them into the small shop. Inside, an old woman was just beginning to set up for the day, hanging her pricing signs and setting a new batch of pork buns in the oven. Naruto walked up to the freshly made food on display, and then looked up at her.

"Six pork buns, please," he ordered, "that guy over there will be paying," he pointed towards Kakashi.

"Senpai is going to be _paying _for_ me_?" Yamato wondered, "this is a nice change."

The old lady watched them curiously as she spooned their order into a paper bag and handed it over the counter. She seemed generally tired, and she had a right to be. Not many shops opened this early, since it was almost five in the morning. She was probably targeting the civilians on their way to work.

Outside, the sky had just begun to send out tendrils of light, with the sun hiding right below the horizon. The ever-present rain continued to fall, and a few other shops were slowly lighting up the dark street. Most of them had upper floors where the owners lived, and those windows were bright with people just beginning to wake up.

Kakashi sighed and took out a few coins from his pocket, dropping them onto the desk. She took one look and immediately pushed them into the drawer. He had probably given her too much, but she wasn't about to comment.

The masked jonin took out a single bun and passed the bag with the rest to Naruto while he turned back to the shop owner. Yamato and Shizune tried in vain to wipe their wet hands on their wetter clothes, but finally gave up and reached into the bag to take out their food. Kakashi quickly pulled down his mask, took a bite, and pulled it back up. Apparently he decided not to do so fast enough, because the old lady seemed to have pink hearts in place of eyes. He could be rather smooth when he tried, and the wet blue cloth that was plastered against his lean form and left little to the imagination was only helping.

"Oba-san this is delicious!" He told her in a voice that was slightly higher than his usual deep tone, "we didn't have anything this good back in Ta no Kuni…"

"And what would a nice man like you be doing in our small village?" The lady asked, still slightly star struck. She didn't even notice Naruto, Shizune, and Yamato, who were leaning against the counter biting into their own food. Shizune found it strange that she wasn't more cautious, but then again, overt intruders didn't usually stop for breakfast.

"Our country was taken over in a shinobi coup," he replied, sounding sad, "so my friends and I decided we would travel and see if there were villages in which we could sell our products. We have a trading license." That, at least, was generally true. Ta no Kuni had been taken over to form Otogakure, the village which was now disbanded due to Orochimaru's lack of presence. Many of its civilians had left with their families, since their new leader seemed to only care about the shinobi. That was partly why it had fallen apart so easily after Orochimaru left; there was no industry left.

"So you're new here, that explains why you're wet and without coats. What do you and your friends sell?" She asked sweetly, her previous tired demeanor all but gone.

"Tenzou-kun, show her," Kakashi urged, knowing that his subordinate knew what he was thinking. It would be the perfect way to make her talk. Yamato sighed and handed his half-eaten pork bun to Naruto, who was reaching out for it. It would probably never be seen again, as the boy had already finished all three of his. He reached into his pack with both hands, allowing his fingers to form seals while they were hidden inside. Suiton pooled briefly in his left hand and doton in his right as he shuffled around inside, and he drew his hands out with a wooden figure held between them.

The old lady clapped and smiled as she saw the small wooden figure based on the paper statue in the street, a figure of the Angel of Ame. Yamato smiled sheepishly and handed it over, where she took it and held it almost reverently.

"This is beautiful!" She exclaimed, "you truly are a talented bunch."

Yamato beamed at the praise. There weren't many people who appreciated him so openly, "I'm glad you like it, I learned how to sculpt back when I was-"

"How long did it take you to make this?" The woman asked Kakashi, ignoring Yamato, who sighed and turned away from Naruto's snicker and Shizune's sympathetic smile. He supposed his senpai's silent praise was sufficient anyway…

"Oh, half an hour," Kakashi replied smoothly, "I understand that she is the figure who protects your village, so I took extra time and care."

"You will do very well here," the woman added, still smiling and holding the wooden sculpture gently, "how much is this?"

"It'll cost _you_ three pork buns!" Naruto said immediately, his voice muffled as he stuffed the last of Yamato's portion in his mouth. Shizune was still halfway through hers, and she winced at the boy's appetite.

"Of course!" She placed the wooden figure on the counter delicately, and turned to retrieve a bag and slip two more inside.

"We find your village very interesting," Kakashi began, still leaning over the counter, "but we have no idea what the people mean when they talk about Pein-sama."

The old lady's eyes softened as she passed the bag to Naruto, "Pein-sama is our leader," she told him.

"Yes, but why do you all speak of him so often?" The masked jonin pushed, ignoring the sound of Naruto's chewing.

"Well, he isn't just a normal leader," she said softly, "Pein-sama is a god."

He stayed silent for a few minutes to process this. A god? Naruto had not told him much about Nagato's actions in Ame, since he had only fought him within Konoha. A god and an angel…Pein and Konan were deities to these people?

"He must be very powerful," Shizune commented, brushing the crumbs off her hands. The old woman behind the counter seemed to notice her for the first time after not having taken her eyes off Kakashi since he spoke.

"He is," she whispered, lowering her voice, "they say that he took out Ame's previous leader Hanzo with a single one of those ninjutsu techniques that the shinobi use."

Yamato raised an eyebrow at how distantly she was talking about the shinobi, even though this was a hidden village. To him, who had grown up rarely ever talking to a civilian for more than a few minutes, it was very strange.

"That's really cool!" Naruto exclaimed, voice muffled by the food in his mouth, "can we see him?"

"Oh no," she got serious immediately and Kakashi felt like strangling his student, "Pein-sama does not see anyone. He protects the village from the shadows, like the shinobi are supposed to do. His godly power is enough to make Ame prosper."

"But…if he never sees anyone, how do you know he exists?" Shizune questioned, tilting her head to one side. Black hair hung in limp strands around her face from where it was only jut beginning to dry.

"Sometimes, he walks out onto the balcony of the main tower," the woman told her in an excited whisper, "and he shows himself to us! Seeing him during those times is so amazing, you can almost see his power and perfection. In fact, there's one address that will happen today evening, and you four can come watch with us. He and the beautiful Angel both exist, we see it ourselves."

"How do you know that she is an angel?" Kakashi asked, leaning one elbow against the counter and looking nonchalant.

"Well, it's not possible for a human to be so beautiful otherwise," she replied matter-of-factly, "she must be an angel."

"But what does your Pein-sama do all day then? Doesn't he have some sort of advisory council, anyone he consults with to help him run such a large village?" He went on.

"Why would he need one?" The woman looked genuinely confused, "Pein-sama is able to run Ame by himself. If there is anyone he actually speaks with, such a person must be blessed. I wouldn't know, since it is probably shinobi business."

"I see," Kakashi trailed, pork bun still held in one hand where it was getting cold, "and when exactly will this rain stop? My friends and I are getting very wet…"

At this, the woman laughed and looked out onto the street, where the sky was still pouring, "the rain never stops in Ame. It always rains here."

"But it wasn't raining only a kilometer away from the village," Shizune told her, "it only started raining when we came close. How can that be?"

"The rain is Pein-sama's jutsu," she explained, resting her arms on the counter, "he controls it," she leaned forwards conspiratorially, "they say that it only stops when Pein-sama is angry," she chuckled.

Suddenly, they all noticed something.

The old woman's laughter stopped abruptly when she looked past Kakashi and out onto the street, her eyes widening. Her mouth hung open and she froze.

The rain was gone. The only droplets that could be heard were the ones dripping off the rooftops.

"Well, that was quick," Shizune commented. Yamato straightened from where he had been leaning against one of the tables and looked towards his senpai for orders.

"Nice timing," Naruto added, turning around to look at the people in the street, who had all frozen in shock. He turned to his sensei, "are you going to finish that?"

Kakashi sighed and handed the rest of his pork bun over to his student's void of a stomach.

ooooo

"Ah, there's our cue."

Jiraiya looked up at the pink, wrinkly stomach tissue above them. Beside him, Tsunade started, "cue?"

"The rain," he explained, "it stopped. Apparently Naruto heard from Fukusaku jii-sama that Nagato stopped the rain when he came out to fight. That probably means that the Paths of Pein are headed towards Kakashi's team. He also uses it to sense where everyone is, so he won't notice us if we go out now."

"I see," Tsunade pulled her green haori tight around her, wincing at the fact that some of the thick toad slime had gotten on it. Katsuyu's slime was much softer. "Let's go, then. You brought us to the pond by the main tower, right?"

"Yes. It wasn't as close as it was on the map, but that thing was a little outdated anyway," he nodded, walking to the middle of the pink stomach chamber, "come here and hold on," he held out one arm.

Tsunade walked over and held onto his arm, mentally preparing herself for the fact that she was about to be vomited by a toad.

It didn't make it any easier. She had seen Jiraiya use this technique before, but it had never included her. As they both shot up out of the chamber with a squelching sound, she held her breath and didn't let it out until they were standing on clear blue water. Beside her foot, the rather small toad that they had just emerged from croaked. It slowly disappeared into the water, taking the sealing dimension within its stomach along with it.

She looked out across the body of water to see large metal structures, seeming to be giant tubes that would carry the water into the other areas of the village whenever the rain filled it to the brim. Since it hadn't been raining for a few minutes, the water level was now lower than the bottom of the pipes, allowing them to see right through.

According to the map Kakashi had brought, they were behind the tower, and would approach from the back entrance. They were located in the north western section, far from where Gaara's team was, and a little closer to Kakashi's team. A few kilometers south would take them to the large apartment buildings where the shinobi seemed to live, and further east would take them to the market places and business area. They were attempting to stay away from the civilians as much as possible, so this was a good place to begin. Tsunade looked upwards to see a large tower looming only a few hundred meters in front of them.

"That's the main tower," she said quietly, "the one Nagato's real body will be in."

"Right," her teammate nodded, "let's get out of this water."

They walked across the pond, chakra coating their feet, until they made it to the wet ground below one of the large pipes where they stopped. The only sound around them was the dripping of the water from the large pipe above.

Jiraiya turned to her and grinned, the markings on his cheeks standing out in the early morning light, "this is nice, isn't it Hime? Us, on a mission together after all these years."

At that, Tsunade couldn't help but allow a small smile to tug at her lips, "hmm, as long as it doesn't go like the last one did."

Her former teammate rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. Their last mission had concluded with a trip to an onsen in a small village near Konoha. Due to…unfortunate circumstances, Tsunade had ended up breaking all the bones in his body.

"I don't think I'll have time for that anyway," he muttered, "I just don't know what to feel, seeing Nagato again…he was truly a good boy at heart. I don't know how he could have gotten like this."

Tsunade sobered, "war does strange things to people's personalities, Jiraiya. We both know that well." She began walking further down underneath the pipe, in the direction of the tower. Jiraiya walked beside her, long white hair swishing with every step. Some people had said that his hair was unconventional for a shinobi, as it would get in the way when he fought. Those people didn't know that it could be used as a deadly weapon.

"Well, I'm interesting in seeing Konan-chan again," he said lightly after a few minutes of silence, "she was a very beautiful little girl. Maybe now that she's older she'll even be able to take your position as the most beautiful kunoichi who ever lived."

"I have no need for a title like that," Tsunade grumbled, "I may like looking young, but attention from men forty years younger isn't exactly what I aim for." She kept her voice low, as it had a tendency to echo off the metal of the pipe system above.

"Hmm, you prefer them older and more experienced eh, Tsunade-hime?" Jiraiya winked, "you shouldn't get so jealous. You see, she's rather young, and _I _like them experienced too."

"Figures your perverted ways wouldn't pause due to such a small matter as the fate of our future," she replied airily.

Jiraiya merely smiled, "that's a rather large tower. Where are we going to begin?" he looked along the path to the tower, noting it's large base and tapered height. At the very top was a single room that led out onto a balcony.

"I think…we should start in the lowest section, maybe underground," Tsunade suggested. She didn't know why she had said that, but it had something to do with a vague recollection that her mind insisted was important.

"We'll start at the bottom, then," Jiraiya nodded, "it seems only fitting, after all. Nagato apparently sends Pein up to the very top to stand in the balcony, so he would rest at the base."

"Right," she nodded, "you seems to know him best."

They walked in silence for a little while, watching their surroundings wearily for any sign of shinobi, and listening to the drops of water that fell off the pipes. Their footsteps echoed softly, and the large tower grew closer. It was five minutes before Jiraiya spoke again.

"Hime, do you blame me?" He asked openly, knowing that he needed an answer, "for not allowing Orochimaru to kill them, I mean. If that had happened, none of this would have taken place…"

"Don't be silly, baka," Tsunade told him quickly, crossed her arms over her chest, "Orochimaru was out of line with that. They were just children, and no matter how it turned out, you did help them survive."

"Yes, they were children," he said quietly, "children who I taught how to fish and cook and fight. I really liked those kids, and at first I thought Yahiko was the _one._ Because he seemed so open and brave and willing to conquer the world."

"Jiraiya-"

"And Konan was so sweet but strong. She was the one who would always pull Nagato up when he fell, just like Yahiko would do for her. She was the bridge that held them up."

"Jiraiya…"

"And Yahiko…I still don't know what happened to that boy," he looked upwards while he walked, at the morning sky which was still covered in grey clouds even without the rain.

"It doesn't matter, because you _did _things!" Tsunade finally told him in a harsh whisper, "sometimes…the results don't matter," she finished in a quieter voice when the toad sage turned to see her, "sometimes all that matters is what you do."

"Hime…" he looked down, "results matter. I've done a lot of mistakes in my life, but I will try to make up for them," his eyes took on a determined look, "I'll make up for them today, in the _results _of what I do," he turned back towards her. "You did things as well, you know, and they've shown results. The people you've saved with those brilliant hands of yours, the people you've defeated to prevent dozens of lives from being sacrificed…you haven't made nearly as many mistakes," he finished somewhat dryly.

"My mistakes are in what I didn't do," Tsunade told him softly.

"In what no one could do," he added, "you cannot blame yourself for that."

He sobered as he remembered the day he had come back to Konoha after leaving the Ame orphans on their own. When he had found Tsunade locked inside her apartment, with Dan's young niece crying silently outside the door because her home had been destroyed by Iwa spies and she had no relatives left apart from her uncle's lover. He had broken in and found her sitting on the couch, looking so desolate he could hardly believe she was the same strong shinobi he had fought with on the front lines. After being lectured for the entire day, she had finally looked up, determined. Jiraiya had relaxed and thought that she was going to get up and fight again, only to find out that she'd had enough of the war, and that she had taken her lover's niece and left the village.

The shinobi he was walking beside was very different from the one who had left the village that day.

"Look at us," she sighed, "talking about old history. We are two of the Legendary Sannin, we can handle this without pretending this could be our last day," her voice was stern.

Jiraiya smiled, "you've changed for the better, hime. All your ridiculous optimism is back, you remind me of Orange-kun sometimes."

"Well I have no clue how or why I would resemble him," Tsunade muttered, "and if there's an optimistic one between us, it's definitely you."

"Hmm, maybe," he mumbled. They were almost at the base of the tower, and could vaguely make out a few figures guarding the small back entrance.

Tsunade was quiet during the rest of the walk. Something was trying to make itself known in her mind, but she wasn't sure what it was or why she had such a strange feeling.

ooooo

"Ninpou: Choujuu Giga!"

"SHANNARO!"

"Konoha Senpuu!"

As Sakura's fist hit him straight in the nose, the leader of the small gang of missing-nin went flying, now unconscious. She withdrew her hand with a grin; she wasn't a Sasuke-level sadist, but it felt nice to land a good punch now and then. The fight hadn't lasted very long – maybe only ten minutes – and it had been relatively easy. The only injuries she had were some small bruises that quickly faded as she healed them away.

Judging from the one final growl and then the silence behind her, her teammates were finished with their opponents as well. She looked back to see Sai rolling up his sheet of seal paper and tucking the brush in the centre. He was uninjured, but that was to be expected since he always fought from a distance. Beside him, Gai was standing triumphantly with three bodies piled beneath him. A small sheen of sweat covered his forehead, but he didn't have a scratch on him. It would take more than three lower-chunin-level missing-nin to land a hit on an experienced Konoha jonin.

"This is one of the most youthful missions I have ever done!" Konoha's Green Beast exclaimed, "I can express the Passion of my Youth through my body, through Taijutsu!"

The missing-nin were barely chunin level, all having been kicked out of their villages for breaking a law instead of leaving by themselves. Weaker ones like these tended to come together and form groups that terrorized small civilian villages. This time, they had demanded for the civilians to pay up a ridiculously large amount of money by the time they came back, and the poor village head had decided to pay to hire shinobi to keep them away using force.

The last remaining nin was backing away slowly. He took one look at the pink-haired girl and the man in the green tights and stilled. They were finished with their opponents already, and were turning towards him.

At first, his leader had instructed them to attack, seeing that the great Konoha had sent a little girl and a man with bad fashion sense. He was rethinking following the orders.

"Should I retrieve him, Sakura-taicho?" Sai asked, watching the missing-nin stumble back into the trees in his haste to get away.

"No," she decided, "hopefully he informs any others of his kind that this village is now under Konoha's protection."

"A Youthful choice, Sakura!" Gai exclaimed, "this was a most enjoyable mission!"

"Oh yes," Sasuke muttered, "very fun." He was leaning against a tree. He hadn't moved an inch in the past half hour, preferring to stand and watch as his teammates dealt with the group. Near his feet stood Tonton. He and the pig had bonded slightly over the past few hours when he offered to carry her out of pity in place of Gai. Sakura would have done it, but she had needed her arms free.

"You didn't lift a finger," Sakura accused, although playfully, "I'll have to mention in the report that all you did during the mission was argue with Sai."

"Well I was utterly useless then, wasn't I?" He deadpanned. He sighed and stood up, brushing himself off, "you three looked like you were having fun, and the one that tried to come near me got eaten by Sai's ink creatures. I thought I'd leave you your amusement."

"Oh? What happened to your inner sadist?" Sai asked curiously.

"That's only fun with people I know well," Sasuke smirked, "beating up a bunch of random missing-nin isn't very fun." Tonton stomped her hoof in agreement, simply wanting to go back and rest in Shizune's arms.

"It was most Youthful of you to allow us more exercise!" Gai gave him a thumbs up, "they were not very strong…but I appreciate the offer!" Sasuke secretly marveled at the skill of an experienced jonin. He had been watching the man's every move, and had grudgingly noticed that he was more than just 'good'. Taking down the missing-nin was nothing big, but coming out without a single scratch? That was something else. And all he had used was basic taijutsu.

"Well, that was a completely successful mission," Sakura commented happily, "now we can head back!"

"If we push our youthful bodies as fast as they can go, we can be back by lunchtime!" Gai told her happily.

"Please Gai-sensei, spare us," Sasuke said quickly, walking forward into the clearing, "let's try to be back by supper instead. Right, Sakura-taicho?" he shot her a smirk.

"That…is a reasonable goal," she conceded, "we'll rest here for fifteen minutes, in case there are more. We have another entire day on the mission schedule anyway, it was just lucky that we managed to find them early."

His brightness dimmed a little, but he seemed rather happy for her. This was the type of mission every jonin on probation wished for; quick, bloodless, and neat. Of course, if Gai hadn't been there Sasuke would have had to help out and they might have gotten a few bruises, but that was relatively small compared to the elation of a successful mission.

She went down by Sasuke's tree and sat near the grass, with her other two teammates sitting down as well in a loose circle. This way, they would have a large range of vision and be able to see attacks, but still looked as though they were off guard. Tonton pattered over to sit by her leg.

"Ch, you're lucky, Sakura," Sasuke began, "this went too well," he sat down cross legged with his back to a tree.

"Oh? Did yours not succeed, Sasuke?" Gai asked, watching the Uchiha boy curiously.

"Sasuke-kun decided to stay behind and rescue me after assuming that I had been kidnapped," Sai offered helpfully, "according to my book, such a 'damsel in distress' type reaction means that he holds deep feelings for me."

"Ch, my feelings for you couldn't get shallower if they tried!"

"Wrong book again Sai," Sakura gave him a smile, "don't worry. One day we'll gather all your books and make a large bonfire with them to dance around."

"This dancing sounds interesting," Sai began, "except my books would be ruined."

"That's the point…"

"How Youthful!" Gai burst out, "my Rival's dear student stayed behind to help a friend in need, just like he once did!"

"Why does everyone bring that up when I tell them about my mission?" Sasuke wondered, shifting in the grass, "the dobe and Sakura are still alive, if you haven't

noticed! There has to be _other _people who didn't succeed on their first missions…"

Gai looked at him thoughtfully, and then lit up, "well then I will tell you about my Dear Friend Genma's first-"

"I've heard that one too," the Uchiha boy interjected quickly, "and I'd like you to know that I am only sixteen and have yet to touch a cup of shochu."

"He didn't say anything about sake," Sai whispered to Sakura, who grinned conspiratorially.

"He's Anko's student," she told him in a slightly louder tone, "she's secretly more of a pervert than Kashi-sensei. I wouldn't be surprised if she's _introduced _him to lots of things," she enjoyed watching the annoyed look spread across her brooding teammate's face.

"Anko-sensei is not a pervert," Sasuke said roughly, crossing his arms. Indeed the most she had ever attempted to do was get him to take a few cups of sake, for the _sole _purpose of finding out of he could do the suiken. But rumors had spread fast when he had crawled out of her apartment the next morning with a headache.

"Ah, I wish my Eternal Rival would put down those Unyouthful books. Just think of all the time he would have to train with me," Gai lamented. Suddenly, his eyes lit up, "yosh! I have gotten into a long-term relationship faster than Kakashi! Our score is now fifty-two to fifty since the last reset! I have beaten him by two wins!"

"I don't know," Sakura trailed, "if you ask him, he'll claim to have been in a relationship with Ran from Icha Icha Paradise for the last seven years…"

Nearby, a plant shuffled.

ooooo

Near the entrance of Amegakure, Nii Yugito leapt back and withdrew her nails, raising an eyebrow at the sand which was rushing forwards from all around her. It surrounded the poor Ame guard standing before her and stayed around him for a few seconds. When it fell away, the guard dropped, unconscious. She turned around to see Gaara standing behind them. The stopper of his gourd was in his hand.

B and Utakata were looking around as well, their opponents taken out in the same way.

"The rain has stopped," Gaara said by way of explanation, allowing the sand to filter back into his gourd, "we have no time to waste with these guards. We must find the Akatsuki and keep them busy."

"Right," Utakata nodded putting his bubble blower away. Saiken still laughed within his cage whenever he saw what he called a 'child's toy', but the bubbles were deadly and he knew it.

The street before them was now empty. It was a large area, with one side leading to the civilian residential area and the other side leading to the shinobi buildings. In the distance there were vague lights that indicated that shops were being open. If it hadn't been for the sound of hurried footsteps approaching, they would have never guessed that anyone had heard them break in.

"I'll take care of the Ame shinobi," Gaara ordered, "since they are such a small village, their jonin would only be on the level of our chunin. My attacks are well suited to fighting groups."

"Understood," Yugito nodded, "B and Utakata and I will wait for the Akatsuki members to show themselves, then."

"Try not to harm them too badly," Utakata told the younger boy, "they're just following orders, after all. They've seen your hitai-ite, so if we fail it could start a small war."

"That's a little too pessimistic," Yugito informed him patriotically.

"Ame's got no power, for Kumo to cower," B added poetically.

"Capture the intruders!" A voice called out. They turned to see that the patter of footsteps belonged to a squad of Ame shinobi, who were all running towards them in formation. They were led by a dark-haired man at the front, who was wielding a kunai in each hand.

As instructed, Utakata, B, and Yugito stood back and allowed Gaara to face them. They watched in interest as Gaara's sand came up, tendrils of it slowly rising from the ground. The dark-haired man who led the guard reinforcement team put one hand out to stop the shinobi behind him from moving, narrowing his eyes at the sand.

"Doton types, forward!" He barked behind him. Three of his squad members stepped up, hands ready to perform seals. Gaara merely stood with his arms crossed over his chest, prepared to take them all out.

Suddenly, the Ame shinobi's eyes all widened as a single piece of paper fluttered down in front of them.

It was not moving like someone had dropped it down from above. It was more like the paper was moving by itself, controlled by chakra as it made it's way to a certain spot in midair, and slowly crinkled into the shape a small flower.

More paper began to follow, and Gaara automatically withdrew his sand to create a shield around them.

"Is that…her?" Utakata asked, peering out through the spaces in the sand.

"I believe she is the only one with this particular jutsu," Gaara replied, "it is not very common, and Naruto described it well."

They watched as more and more paper floated down, settling in their own respective places until a woman was standing in front of them, facing them, with deep blue eyes that looked directly into Gaara's own.

Upon seeing the paper manifest in front of them, the shinobi of the reinforcement squad all bowed deeply. They had seen her before, standing by Pein-sama on the balcony, but never had she been so _close, _with her unearthly beauty and stillness.

"Angel-sama!" The dark-haired man who led the squad cried, "we will dispose of these intruders as we are loyal shinobi of Ame!" The rest of his team all cried their approval.

Konan did not move. She kept gazing forward. Gaara was well known as a still, intimidating figure, but even he felt slightly uneasy under her gaze. The sand parted around his face, revealing it to her.

"So you are Konan of the Akatsuki?" He asked loudly, "no matter, we will deal with you."

The shinobi in the guard reinforcements squad all started angrily.

"How dare you speak to Angel-sama in that way?" Their leader demanded, "she will never fall to fools like you, who dare enter Pein-sama's village so openly!" Kunai were raised behind him to show accord.

Instead of speaking, Konan slowly put a hand inside her cloak. The dark-haired shinobi watcher her, confused as to whether she planned to fight the intruders or leave them to the guards.

"Angel-sama-" he began.

"Return to your posts," she said, "check back in an hour to collect the bodies". In contrast to her stunning appearance, her voice was deep and commanding. The shinobi behind her did not fail to obey.

"Angel-sama will take care of the intruders!" Their leader exclaimed, "we have nothing to fear. We will retreat," he instructed his squad. He turned back and bowed low to Konan below leaving, eyes soaking in her appearance.

Gaara's team watched Konan's hand warily as it came out with a length of paper that grew longer as she drew it out from the folds near her stomach. Familiar black markings were etched onto its surface, the same reverse circular base.

"It's another Edo Tensei," Utakata spoke up in a harsh whisper, "I remember those symbols well."

"He's right, kono yaro," B added.

Gaara narrowed his eyes as he thought, "we'll just have to see who they are, then," he conceded, not taking his eyes of Konan for a second.

The Ame kunoichi drew the last section of the paper out of her cloak, and then let the roll drop to the floor. There were three base seal designs on it; three seals.

She reached down without a moment's hesitance, and slammed her paper palms into the seals, cloak flying around her to reveal blue pants and bandaged ankles.

"Kuchiose: Edo Tensei!"

Just as three clouds of chakra began to materialize, paper flitted around them, signaling the dematerialized Konan. The paper slowly flew off into the air, but they were too busy staring intently at the weapons that she had called to fight them to watch her paper clone go.

"Well, I suppose we don't need to worry about her, at least," Yugito spoke up, "with the way the Ame shinobi regard her, she must have been strong."

"Jiraiya-san and Tsunade-san will probably have to fight her," Gaara replied, "since Naruto mentioned that she remains close to where Nagato is. That is worrying…we should try to finish up here so we can aid them."

"They're here, kono yaro. Must be tough, baka yaro," B spoke up, looking out to the clouds of chakra that were slowly blowing away to reveal three figures, all dressed in Akatsuki cloaks. These were the Edo Tensei replacements for the dead Akatsuki members. Their mission was to keep these reanimations busy until Jiraiya and Tsunade managed to escape with Nagato's body.

Gaara did not recognize any of the three reanimations standing before them. One was a dark-skinned girl. Her large Akatsuki cloak covered her from the neck down, but her short hair was a strange color. The second was a man who looked like he was in his late thirties, short and rather stout but well muscled. Red hair fell behind and brushed against the top of his cloak, which was parted to reveal that he was wearing a red tunic with hints of mesh underneath, and tied at the waist with a sash.

"Wait," Utakata muttered. His eyes were set on the third figure, "I know that person!"


	36. The Impure Jinchuuriki

**Chapter 36 – The Impure Jinchuuriki & The Face of Pein**

"Who is it?" Gaara asked sharply. The third reanimated shinobi looked like a boy, but there was something about his face that suggested that he was probably much older. He had strange, washed-out hair the color of dull straw, but his eyes were a deep shade of pink. Running down one side of his face was a stitch mark, as if he had been sewn back together after having half his face pulled off.

"The previous Mizukage before Mei-sama," Utakata told him, "he is Yagura-sama. It was rumored that he was forced to become the Jinchuuriki of the Sanbi when he was already twenty years old, and was very unstable due to that."

He decided not to mention that he and Yagura had most probably been related in some way, since Jinchuuriki were almost always connected to the kage of their hidden village. He vaguely remembered the day all those years ago, when his young, five-year-old self had been taken to a fuuinjutsu master for 'something special'. He hadn't recognized Saiken's sealing until many years later, when B had first told him that he held a bijuu.

"They must have taken his cells after his death," Yugito muttered. Her tied hair was draped over her shoulder, still infuriatingly neat even after going through hours of pouring rain and decimating the first guard squad. It was just beginning to dry, since the sun was starting to emerge from beyond the horizon and into the cloudy sky, signaling that it was around seven or eight in the morning. Ame's daylight hours were decreased due to the constant rain.

Utakata frowned when he felt the familiar pull in his mind that signaled that his bijuu wanted to speak. Inside the cage in his seal dimension, the great Demon Slug was pressed against the bars, watching intently.

_I can sense it,_ Saiken began, _Isobu is still inside this person, but it is very unstable. And if I focus on the other two, there are similar chakra signatures. Son Goku, and Choumei. They've all been resealed, but badly. I did not think it possible to seal a bijuu inside a reanimated body, but it seems that Madara has found a way…_

_But that's a good thing, isn't it? _Utakata asked, _the other bijuu are aware of the trigger, right? So they'll want to help us…_

_You forget that the entire purpose of a Jinchuuriki is to control a bijuu! _Saiken boomed, _they will not fight, but their reanimated Jinchuuriki will take chakra from them to fight against you!_

_Ah, that's not good…_

"Sanbi, Yonbi, and Nanabi too," B began, "Gyuki's askin' what we're gonna do."

"You can sense it too, then?" Yugito asked, keeping her eyes trained on the figures standing on the Edo Tensei summoning seals, "the good news is that the reanimations cannot use their Version Twos like you and I can, since that release is controlled by the bijuu and their forms are too unstable."

"So these three are the Jinchuuriki who were taken?" Gaara wondered. Since Shukaku had never helped him, he did not know how his teammates were so sure of their opponents' identities, but he trusted them.

"Yes," Utakata answered, "that's what Saiken has told me. Will we be able to seal them as they are?" He was still unable to perform a Version Two release. Learning that had taken Yugito five years and B almost a dozen since Gyuki was sealed when he was almost eight. However, Utakata had gotten far in the years he had trained, and Saiken's chakra was now starting to feel like his own.

"Only temporarily," Yugito replied, "I knew I wasn't going to be good with fuuinjutsu, so I read about it back in Kumo to prepare. Human seals are very different from chakra-seals, they're much weaker because if you make them strong enough for chakra they'll overload. It's likely that even if we seal them, the bijuu will break out of the seals in a few days if they are not extracted and resealed into Jinchuuriki. And Matatabi informs me that the seals that bind the bijuu to the reanimations are very weak. They were not done by a fuuinjutsu master, and were probably only meant to last a few days."

"We don't have much time to worry about that," Gaara stated, "as long as they remain sealed until our mission is over, it will be fine. We can always return to fight for them later on."

"Well, we're Jinchuuriki as well," Utakata stated, "we'll be fairly evenly matched, at least."

"You're forgetting that they are reanimated," Yugito told him, "any of their attacks can take us down, but we have to get close long enough to seal them. That makes them stronger, so we must be careful."

The four of them watched as the reanimations slowly stepped off their summoning seals. The sclera of their eyes were black, and their faces were still and impassive. Although they were there, they had not been activated yet.

"I have some knowledge of Yagura-sama's jutsu," he spoke up again, "he is a suiton type."

"I'll leave him to you, then," Gaara told him, his voice low and serious, "the other two, Yonbi and Nanabi, do either of you know anything about them?"

"Nanabi's strong, baka yaro," B replied.

"B-san is correct," Yugito told him, "Kumo attempted to capture her once from the small village of Takigakure. She was able to hold off our jonin squads by herself using her bijuu's chakra, since there were no other notable shinobi in her village. After that attempt, she left Taki in order to not draw any more attention to it, and her whereabouts have been unknown ever since. That probably made her an easy target for the Akatsuki."

"And Yonbi's jinchuuriki?" Gaara turned to look at the short, red-haired man, "he wears an Iwa hitai-ite."

"I do not know," she continued, "but Nanabi might require both your efforts to take down, since the fact that they are reanimated gives them an advantage. Leave Yonbi's jinchuuriki to me," she stepped out from behind the sand with a determined look, facing the short, red-haired man. She knew absolutely nothing about her opponent, but that was a situation that she was familiar with. No matter who he was or how he fought, this person would end up skewered on her claws with a paper seal pressed onto his chest before noon.

"Fine," Gaara nodded, turning to her and Utakata, "if either of you manage to seal them first, head north-east and try to find Kakashi's team. B and I will aim to seal Nanabi and then find Jiraiya and Tsunade."

The village-wide alarm started again, and this time nine rings ran through the air. None of them knew what the number of rings meant, but the fact that the figures in the distance were all hurrying inside the nearest buildings signified enough. The village was under emergency alert, and the people were going to remain indoors until the situation was clear. All Gaara registered was that no one else would disturb their fight.

Utakata nodded at the orders, and stepped out of the sand shield behind Yugito. This would be his first time battling against another Jinchuuriki. He pulled the bamboo jug from the waistband of his pants, hearing the soap solution slosh around inside. The dripping kimono hung off his shoulders, and he drew it closer around him to allow his hands to move more easily, shivering at the clammy chill of the material.

_Why not put that child's toy away and fight properly? _Saiken asked from his cage, sounding slightly exasperated. He always acted like that when the bubble blower came out. _You have a bijuu's chakra at your disposal and you're going to blow bubbles?_

_I'll fight how I wish to. All you need to do is lend me chakra, _Utakata told his bijuu firmly. He was up against the former Mizukage, the one who had ruled over the Village Hidden in the Bloody Mist. The one for whom he had been required to murder other graduating students. The one who was said to have been controlled by some form of eternal genjutsu during his reign before Mei-sama had forcefully taken it away. Up to this point, his strongest opponent had been A-rank jonin and Mizu's hunter-nin, but now he was up against a Kage.

He would fight in his own way.

ooooo

"Do you have any way to dispose of them quietly?" Tsunade whispered to her former teammates.

They were crouched down in the entrance of one of the large pipes, peering out at the sentries standing guard near the back entrance of the tower. There were three of them, all leaning back casually against the tower wall.

"Well, not really," he admitted. It was important that they did this without making any noise. Unlike Kakashi's team, they really _were _trying to be covert. They had to make it inside while Pein was distracted with the others.

"Fine," she sighed, "I suppose I can always try this…" she reached into her pack and took out a weapons pouch that she never wore on her waist. Reaching inside, she drew out three senbon needles.

"I didn't know you used those," Jiraiya commented, watching the needles.

"Well, travelling with Shizune does have benefits," she said lightly, "I'm not as good with them as she is, but those guards are standing targets, and I know where to aim."

She picked up one of the needles and held it loosely between her fingers, slowly sending tendrils of chakra into her hands. In the hands of most, senbon were relatively harmless. The amount of damage they did was minimal, and they could be pulled out without harm. It was a different story if the user was an iryounin.

Tsunade flicked her hand forwards, with the needle held between thumb and index finger. She let it loose, and it flew with astonishing speed, enhanced by the fine chakra control in her hand. The first guard dropped. The other two guards looked panicked for a slightly moment, but they didn't have any time to react. Before they could utter a word, they fell down in the same way, senbon sticking out of their necks.

"Huh," Jiraiya commented, "so you're somewhat good at stealth after all."

"I can be stealthy when I try," she grumbled, "but you should see Yugito work. She could make her way through the daimyo's palace without drawing a speck of attention."

"Hmm, she does seem like the type," he replied. Slowly looking around as he went, he stepped out from where he had been crouched over her and peered out of the pipe, "there doesn't seem to be any other guards. Let's head inside." He stepped out from the pipe and leapt to the ground.

Tsunade landed beside him, swinging the pack over her shoulder. They kept their guard as they approached the unconscious guards, but there didn't seem to be many others in the area. These were the village's irrigation systems, after all, and they usually ran uninterrupted due to the ever-present rain, and were flooded through.

"He's out cold," Jiraiya commented, nudging one of the unconscious guards with his foot, "is he paralyzed or unconscious? It could be risky if he knows what we're saying."

"He's unconscious, of course," she huffed, "I wouldn't risk paralyzing, and my aim's good enough to knock him out anyway." She continued past the guards to the door, "Although if we see anyone inside, I won't have time to aim. We'll have to take them out the old-fashioned way."

"Fine by me," the toad sannin grinned, "remember that one time we had to infiltrate the Iwa Daimyo's palace during the war? It was just like this…"

"What is it with you and the reminiscing?" She hissed, "you sound like some old man on his deathbed."

"Don't worry," he told her airily as she swung the metal door open with inhuman strength, "if I go out, I'll go out big."

"You don't need to go out big," she sighed, "just…don't go out at all."

Jiraiya merely smiled wryly at that. Directly through the doors were a set of stairs that led down, with no other way to go. He frowned, "maybe we should think about finding another entrance on the outside. I mean, the stairs go down, but not up…"

"There will probably be another way to head up once we're inside," she said quickly, "let's go in here."

He seemed slightly surprised at that. His former teammate was stubborn, but she was also cautious. It wasn't like her to propose a risk, but he shrugged, "alright. I suppose we might as well go in since we've already dealt with the guards. I didn't want to fight the twenty Ame-nin protecting the main entrance anyway…"

Jiraiya followed her into the tower of Ame, shooting glances behind him to make sure there weren't any more guards following. He closed the door quietly and started down the stairs. The stairway had no light, but the space where it led to was lit, and the faint light filtered in.

At the bottom, the corridor opened to one side. Tsunade peered around it before she stepped out with her teammate behind her. It was a long hallway, with dark walls and doors on either side. Each door was closed.

"Maybe he's in one of these," she proposed, "we planned to start at the bottom anyway, and I don't think there are any floors beneath this one. There aren't any echoes off the ground."

"Right," the toad sannin nodded and reached for the first door handle. He pushed to door open and peered in.

The room inside was plain, with grey walls and a single table set in the middle. One smaller door inside branched off, maybe a bathroom. But the first thing he noticed was the dark-haired woman who was sitting with her back to the wall, staring at him with something like fear in her eyes. She was wearing a plain white tunic over brown pants, with a white sash tied around her waist. Something about the way she held herself indicated that she was – or once was – a shinobi.

"Who are you?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. Tsunade watched her over his shoulder, and took in the rest of the room.

The woman didn't answer. Within seconds she was directly in front of him, eyes narrowed and one hand posed to strike his chest. Jiraiya acted quickly, his hand shooting out to gain a firm grip on her neck as he held her away. She struggled and clawed at his sleeve.

"I asked you a question," Jiraiya said again, this time slightly more curious.

"If you don't know that, then Pein-sama did not send you," she rasped in a voice that probably hadn't been used in a while.

"Pein…sama?" Tsunade asked, "and you're trying to run away? A prisoner, maybe?"

The woman remained silent, glaring at them.

"Let's ask her for directions," he suggested, "we don't exactly have a map of this place, and we need to know how to move up if we don't find him here."

"No," Tsunade crossed her arms, "that'll just waste time. Leave her and let's go."

Jiraiya sighed, "I'm one of the few men willing to ask for directions, and I'm stuck with the only woman who's not…"

"Just let me go," the Ame prisoner interrupted, hands still wrapped around Jiraiya's sleeve as he held her away and out of striking range, "I don't know anything about this place, honest. Pein-sama was right to send me here, he is always right. I'm wrong…to defy god," She had a resigned look in her eyes.

Her teammate let go of the woman's neck, quickly stepping back and closing the door before she could escape. "So these rooms hold prisoners, then?"

But they're closed off, and not many people seem to come here," she interjected, "Nagato could be somewhere down here, although he's probably in a more notable room. Let's continue searching."

Jiraiya nodded, and the two of them went down the hallway, heading farther into the base of the tower.

They spent an entire hour looking through the cells. Not all of them contained prisoners; a few had housed so-called 'researchers' who refused to say anything about what they did there. But many had men and women in the same brown pants and white shirts, with the occasional one that would try to attack them. They quickly noticed a pattern in this way. The cells at the beginning of each hallway contained prisoners that would attack immediately, not even checking who they were. These ones seemed to be the newest, who were still rebelling.

The rooms at the end of each hall contained the weary ones who had been there for a long time, with some of them not even looking up as the two Sannin peered in. That meant that there were the most important, and they gravitated towards these rooms.

"This look significant, right?" Jiraiya paused at the door. It was at the very end of one of the long, twisting halls beneath the tower, "we're not getting very far with just checking through these doors…maybe we should find the stairs now."

"No," Tsunade told him, "we need to be through. After this door, we'll search the next hall before heading up." The strange feeling was there again.

Senju Tsunade was not a very intuitive person. Despite what everyone thought, she knew full well that she had the worst intuition possible, demonstrated by her abysmal luck at gambling. That was why she fought against her instinct whenever it came up and chose to think about her choices instead, and that was the only reason she had been so lucky at betting her life even while horribly unlucky with her money.

But this time, she had a feeling that her instinct was based on something more concrete, and she reluctantly decided to follow it. They would scour these cells properly, going through each and every one to find Nagato.

"Alright," Jiraiya frowned. He turned back to the last door in the section, "this one seems slightly promising, though. It's larger than the others," he reached forwards to clasp a hand around the wooden knob. Tsunade watched as he turned it and pushed it open. They both peered around into the room, and froze.

This room was very different. It had a desk like the rooms where the 'researchers' worked, with a single chair sitting by it and scrolls of seal paper spread out onto it. What was shocking was not the furniture but the man sitting on the chair, one elbow leaning on the desk as he made careful markings with his brush. Deep gray hair fell around his face in place of black, but those eyes were easily recognized. The man did not look up at them until he noticed that they had not moved. When he did, his eyes widened when he saw them.

They were lined with the purple that marked the Snake Sannin.

ooooo

Many kilometers away, Team Sakura was resting by Hi no Kuni's northern river. Sakura and Sasuke were sitting on the grass in the clearing nearby, opening their packs to retrieve ration bars. They were so far ahead of schedule that it seemed fine to take a few more breaks than usual. Gai-sensei had disappeared behind the trees to wash his hands in the river, and Sai had gone to heed nature's call behind a bush. Except, he took the opportunity to debut something as well.

"Sakura-taicho," Sai called, stepping back into the clearing, "how do I look?"

Their taicho turned around and froze at the sight. Beside her, Sasuke also looked around, and gagged.

Sai stood a few meters in front of them. He was wearing a very familiar set of green tights, and posing with one hand paused mid-stroke on his chin. Unlike Gai, who at least wore a jonin flak jacket and tied his hitai-ite around his waist like a belt, Sai was solid green from neck to ankle, and every muscle showed clearly. The smile that he was giving them was set at an angle that allowed the sun to reflect off his teeth, almost blinding them.

"Gai-san informed me that I could look very youthful while wearing this," he went on, "and I believe it is very practical to fight in as well."

"Take it off or I will take it off you," Sasuke growled slowly.

"I do not think we are at that point in our relationship yet, Sasuke-kun," Sai said with the same unnerving smile.

"I…give up," the Uchiha boy turned back to his pack and continued to scrounge inside for a ration bar, ignoring the Youthful hell happening behind him.

Sakura was still holding her breath, "um…Sai, please don't tell me those are _Gai-sensei_'s…"

"Oh no," he answered thankfully, and she sighed in relief, "Gai-san always carries an extra set with him. He told me that I had the potential to be as Youthful as his students, and that all I needed was a set of good tights to start with. I was under the impression that being sixteen years of age automatically guaranteed my youth, but-"

"You wore them!" Another voice boomed from where he had go to the riverbank, "you look extremely Youthful, Sai!" Gai gave the boy a thumbs up and grinned widely when the former anbu operative imitated his pose.

"Help me, pig," Sasuke muttered to Tonton, holding her up, "do something. Sai's bad enough as he is, the _last _he needs is…_youth_," he shivered while saying the word.

"Buhi," Tonton replied sympathetically. From spending years with Shizune, she knew helplessness when she saw it. After all, she had seen it every time Tsunade would go out during the night, when Shizune would stay behind and lament to her about her shishou's habits. Now she saw it very clearly in this young Uchiha boy. Unfortunately, this was one of the situations where a pig really couldn't be of much use.

"Do I, Gai-san?" Sai asked, the unnerving smile still on his face.

"Indeed," the older jonin agreed enthusiastically, "I once offered these tights to my own students. But my Youthful Neji never wears his, and my Radiant Tenten kept running away for some reason. Even Shizune refused…but it is fine, because they have all found ways to become just as youthful without the help of my tights!"

"Poor Tenten. She should look into a restraining order," Sasuke mumbled to Tonton, "the Hyuga deserves it, though."

"Would you like one as well, Sakura?" Gai asked, still looking elated. Standing beside Sai, the green was almost too much for her eyes, "I have many more! I assure you that they will make you feel as light as air when you fight!"

"Um…"

"Say yes and we're finished," Sasuke muttered to her threateningly.

"Um…I don't think they're made for kunoichi to wear," she finished rather lamely. It was somewhat of a good excuse, after all. They were rather tight around the-

"You do not need to worry about that, Sakura-taicho," Sai told her cheerfully, "your chest is very flat, and I do not think anything inappropriate would be able to show."

After Gai and Sasuke managed to successfully restrain her until her anger died down, Sakura sat back down on the grass with a sigh.

"The Youthful thing to do in this type of situation would be to apologize!" Gai declared, looking towards Sai.

"I apologize, Sakura-taicho," Sai told her dutifully, "I will refrain from bringing up the nonexistence of your chest again."

A vein twitched in Sakura's forehead, but she gave him a strangled smile and told herself that _she _was supposed to be the mature one here. Although amongst her quick anger, Sai's lack of emotion, Sasuke's sadistic nature, andGai's _Youth_, it seemed that Tonton held that position so far.

Gai was stroking his chin thoughtfully, "Hmm, maybe if I had them specially made to accommodate Tenten and Shizune…"

"Spare them, please," Sasuke told him, massaging his arms from where he had struggled to hold Sakura back, "Shizune-san would appreciate a nice dinner much more than tights. And Tenten…I think she would be much more…Youthful…if you gave her a set of nun chunks."

"That is a brilliant, idea!" Gai lit up, "I shall have a set of nun chunks specially made for her! And maybe a nice katana for Neji! And I shall present Shizune with the recipes that have been passed down through my family!"

"I believe the jyuuken is completely unsuited to weapons," Sai added helpfully, "we had a few Hyuga operatives in anbu. They all abandoned their issued tanto."

"Here's a hint," Sasuke told him, "test those recipes on Neji first. Only let Shizune-san try them if he approves." Instead of worry for his teammate's senpai, he was inwardly smirking at what the Hyuga boy would have to go through.

Sakura cringed when she thought of how something like that would play out.

"_Neji! I have found you, my dear Champion of Youth," Gai gave him a thumbs up and a bright smile, "come to my apartment alone tonight and I shall cook you a most Youthful dinner!"_

_Hyuga Neji backed away slowly._

Unknown to the members of Team Sakura, a nearby plant shuffled and disappeared into the ground.

ooooo

For the first time since he had begun going by his new name, Tobi stood his ground. He refused to run, even as Kisame senpai repeatedly slashed at him with Samehada, the giant sword passing through him each time. Although he did sniff a little.

"Say that again, I dare you!" Kisame growled, taking another swing, "you'll run out of chakra eventually, and then even _you_ won't be able to avoid Samehada's appetite!"

"Tobi is sorry!" The masked figure moaned, "Tobi will never refer to Kisame-senpai's fishlike ancestry again!"

"I have no fishlike ancestry!" The other Akatsuki member said angrily, his wavering voice growing lower as he took another swipe at his partner, "I'm completely human, dammit!"

"Tobi understands! Kisame-senpai is human, just like Tobi!" His partner wailed, hands covering his masked face, "if Kisame-senpai stops trying to kill Tobi, Tobi might show him what's under his mask!" He offered.

Hoshigaki Kisame gritted his teeth and withdrew Samehada. That was the first proper apology his partner had made. He had to admit that he was slightly curious about what was under that mask, but…

"I have no interest in what your face looks like, if you need to cover it," he snarled. It wasn't a good idea to allow someone to know where your interests lay, and all missing-nin knew that. "at least stay quiet while we wait."

"Sure! Tobi can stay quiet! Tobi will be as silent as a fly! Zip, zip, Tobi makes no sound! Look, senpai! Zetsu-san!" The masked figure exclaimed, looking behind him.

Kisame turned to see the ground behind him shake. He quickly moved out of the way as large, leafy appendages emerged from it, rising up to reveal the black-and-white figure inside them.

"You're late," the blue-skinned man informed him in a wavering voice, "you were supposed to be here five minutes ago."

"_I stayed to confirm their route," _White Zetsu told him, _"they are headed down the Northern river. If you continue walking north-east, you should meet up with them in a few hours."_

"Hmm," Kisame nodded, "are you going to come with us to help with our mission? I'd prefer if you didn't. Itachi never allowed me much blood, and I plan to make use of his…absence."

"**No need to come**_**," **_Black Zetsu rasped, **"Tobi is with you."**

"What, and _he'll _guarantee my success?" Kisame raised an eyebrow, "I think I really _am_ starting to miss that Uchiha. At least he made sense…"

"Tobi and Kisame-senpai will continue on our own, Zetsu-san," the other Akatsuki member spoke up, saluting him.

"Well, we have Orochimaru's presents with us," Kisame said. Thinking of the fact that the snake was imprisoned was enough to lighten his mood.

"_We will head back to Ame now," _White Zetsu told him.

"**Be back in time for dinner," **Black Zetsu added with a grin.

ooooo

"Yonbi-san, are you able to speak?" Yugito called out while running. She had attacked the man once, just to inform him that she would be his opponent, before running off so that they could fight separately from the others. They were now in some sort of abandoned marsh-like area just outside the collapsed gates, and her feet sunk into the wet earth.

It was perfect. Most shinobi dreaded fighting in a place like this, where their kicks wouldn't be as strong as the ground squelched and threatened to swallow them up. But Nii Yugito was nothing if not adaptable_. _She was fast enough to stay out of the ground, and nimble enough to maneuver in the air to land her strikes. Her opponent wasn't so lucky, and was resorting to using his chakra to coat his feet.

The red-haired man stopped, and turned to her. They were far enough now, and she didn't need to keep running. He tilted his head to one side slowly, watching her with his black eyes.

"I…don't understand," he told her, "the last thing I remember is fighting someone who introduced himself as Hoshigaki Kisame…" He seemed genuinely confused, "and then I woke up here. My body is being controlled by something, I think. It's hard to stay still."

"I know," Yugito kept her guard up, but paused a few meters away from him. She didn't need to use her chakra to keep balanced and not fall into the marsh, "just try to hold off your attacks for a while and I'll explain everything to you."

_Ask him about Yonbi, _Matatabi added from inside her seal dimension. The Demon Cat had never talked to her very often until the time seal had been activated. At first, Matatabi had seen her as a pathetically tiny human, since she had begun her training ridiculously early. It had taken a long time, but she had eventually gotten her bijuu's approval, and had been permitted to use his chakra and Version Two. Since the time seal was activated, she had been speaking with the bijuu almost every week.

"You are the Jinchuuriki of the Yonbi?" She asked the short man, allowing her nails to grow and harden slowly.

"I am Roshi of Iwa, Jinchuuriki of Son Goku," he nodded, "but I cannot talk to him. He is blocked off from me."

"I see," Yugito bit her lip, "you have been killed by Hoshigaki Kisame of the Akatsuki, and reanimated using a kinjutsu to fight against me. My comrades will soon battle against your killer, and we will avenge you," she stated loudly, "I am Nii Yugito, Jinchuuriki of the Nibi. I will be sealing you."

Roshi's stance did not grow any weaker, but the look in his eyes changed slightly, "I see. So I am dead…I don't think I can help fighting you, but I will hold back as much as I can since you wish to avenge me." Even as he said it, his form was rushing toward her, propelling off with chakra.

Yugito raised her steel-like nails to meet his strike evenly. Even against a Jinchuuriki, she wasn't _too_ worried about her chances. She was the strongest jonin-taicho of Kumo, after all, and was only a little below the level of B, who she aimed to surpass one day. If Roshi had been alive, then she could have taken him easily.

The problem was that he was dead, which increased his strength by quite a bit. It was also probably what Konan had depended on when she set the bijuu against them. Madara did not know that they had seals prepared, especially since Utakata and B had resorted to running away from the Sandaime Raikage's reanimation. They were expected to keep fighting against enemies that couldn't die until they were tired out, when they would be collected and have their bijuu extracted.

But a clean swipe with her claws or a single strike with her bijuu ball wouldn't do anything if he could just piece himself back together. Somehow, she had to keep him down long enough to slam the seal onto him. And that would probably tire her out, when she had to keep her stamina to help Kakashi's team safely out of Ame and help them fight if Madara showed up.

She leapt back, keeping her defense up as she considered how to best defeat him.

_Use my chakra, _Matatabi suggested, mentally nudging her, _if you try to conserve your energy, you could end up gradually using more until you tire. _The Demon Cat knew that his Jinchuuriki was level-headed enough to put off using bijuu chakra as much as possible in the early stages of a battle, but that wouldn't work here.

_Fine, _Yugito nodded. She slowly accepted the chakra that Matatabi was sending into her, filling up her tenketsu points. Years of experience made it almost as familiar as her own, and she barely felt the faint burn of chakra-overload.

She didn't risk going into a Version Two right away. Matatabi would prefer if she put everything into a few chance shots, but she had to play it properly this time; Roshi was not her only opponent. If Madara showed up, Kakashi-san would need all the help he could get from her and Utakata. Light blue chakra began to slowly coat her Version One transformation, with the Demon Cat's signature black streaks running through it.

Roshi had his fingers together and was making hand seals as she watched warily. Dog, Ox, Hare, Snake. He brought his fingers to his mouth and blew.

"Yoton: Shakugaryugan no Jutsu!"

Nii Yugito leapt up and dodged in the air as giant rocks covered in hot lava began whirling her way. She landed back on all fours after nimbly avoiding the rocks, and the blue chakra flared around her as a slow hissing sound filled the air.

ooooo

"O-Orochimaru?!" Tsunade was speechless as she looked at her former teammate. He was wearing the same brown pants and white shirt as the Ame shinobi prisoners, and they hung off a thin frame that barely hinted at the lean muscle he had once had.

"So this is where you were," Jiraiya said grimly, crossing his arms, "and those seals…" he walked over to the table and peered down at the paper, noting the familiar base, "it seems that we were right."

"Are those the Edo Tensei seals?" She questioned, stepping forwards to scan the paper. She had never been much of a fuuinjutsu master, but being the great-niece of the Nidaime Hokage had its benefits. She vaguely recognized the seals on the paper as variations off Tobirama-jiji's work.

"Yes," the toad sannin answered, picking up one of the sheets and then throwing it away in disgust. Fuuinjutsu master or no, he refused to ever acknowledge something as _wrong _as reanimation.

"So you've been working for the Akatsuki?" Tsunade asked the silent figure still frozen on the chair, her eyes narrowed, "I thought you left the group years ago?" This was suspicious. The other researchers had not been wearing the same clothes as the prisoners, so why would he?

"I…" For once, Orochimaru was shocked at their appearance. The last time he had seen both his former teammates had been decades ago. But he quickly regained his composure, "I was forced to join," he explained in his familiar rough voice, "I had no choice."

"Sure you didn't," Jiraiya raised an eyebrow, "you look very interested in those seals for someone who's being _forced _to do this. Hime," he turned back to her, "I'll deal with him. Make sure no one's outside."

"Yes, and I wear the prisoner's uniform because I like the feel of the material," the snake sannin retorted, hands clenched into fists in an unlikely display of frustration.

"How should I know what goes on in your twisted brain?" Jiraiya narrowed his eyes, "I'll make sure you _can't _continue helping them-"

"No," Tsunade said quietly, stepping into the room and closing the door behind her; not enough to lock it, but enough to make it seem like it was shut, "we can't kill him…yet. We…have to make him release the Edo Tensei. He's probably made many of these scrolls for them."

"Right, good idea. I almost forgot," the toad sage turned back to the pale man who was still sitting down in the chair, long white hair bristling, "I was told by the Nidaime Hokage that the only person who can release the jutsu is the one who activated the seal. Release it, and we'll give you a quick death." The way he said it made it sound like a good offer, and his wooden sandals tapped against the floor, creating more pressure in the room.

Orochimaru slowly stood up from his seat, and it was clear that he hadn't used his legs in a while, because he had to steady himself with the table for a few seconds before he was able to stand properly. He looked up in irritation at his former teammate, "as much as I _hate _helping those people, I cannot release it," he spat, "I was not the one who activated them, I only drew them and incorporated the sacrifices. Someone _else _channeled their chakra into the seals to turn the sacrifice into the reanimation."

"Then who activated them?" Tsunade frowned, her forehead creasing. She crossed her arms over her green haori, not taking her eyes off her former teammate.

"Don't take his word for it, hime," the toad sage turned back to shoot her a concerned look, because he knew that _she _was usually the careful one. Usually, _she _would be the one insisting on killing him and leaving, instead of risking him beguiling them with another lie.

The snake sannin bit his lip in annoyance, "I have no idea," he admitted harshly, "for all I know, it could be that fool Tobi. Anyone with good chakra control could have activated them."

"He could be lying," Jiraiya spoke up, "he's good enough at it, lying is practically an art form with him. He's probably pretending to hate them. It's obvious that he joined them because they gave him a new body for his Fushi Tensei after we weakened him on that day when we broke into his hideout. He looks almost like he did, but there are a few differences that I can spot in his build." He turned to glance over his traitorous teammate's form with a critical eye.

"You're right," Tsunade nodded. Her iryounin training had her analyzing him the moment she had laid eyes on him. His frame was slightly narrower, with a distinct lack of muscle over his chest where the shirt fell open without a sash. The high cheekbones were slightly lower, he was an inch taller, and his face was not as thin. This was not the same body Orochimaru had once had. It was shockingly similar, hinting that it was slowly morphing into him, but still different. She and Jiraiya had his face sewn firmly into their memories, and saw the differences clearly.

"That's why I had no choice," he spat out, evidently aggravated. However, he was holding back, and Tsunade could see it. For some reason, he was holding himself in check, as if trying not to anger Jiraiya. It was unnerving, because she didn't know why. He tended to take every chance he got to take a shot at his former teammate and current enemy.

"Listen," the toad sage began, hair bristling further into semblances of the sharp arsenal it could become, "I'm not very good at interrogation, but I'm sure I can _learn on the job, _and you might even have to spent the rest of your short life as a toad. Release the Edo Tensei, teme!"

"I can't!" Orochimaru finally burst out, dark hair covering half his face, "there's a _reason_ I wasn't the one who activated the seals!"

Jiraiya and Tsunade both started at his loud tone. He was not someone who ever raised his voice. They looked on in confusion. Orochimaru looked down at the ground as his hands clenched into fists at his side.

"You…do not know what has been done to me," his shoulders shook in silent fury, "it may be _years _until I can perform the simplest of ninjutsu!"

The room was silent for a while as they processed what he had said. Even Jiraiya didn't move, not knowing what to do, or if he was telling the truth.

Finally, Tsunade stepped forward. Both of her teammate's eyes were on her as she walked father into the room, around the desk and towards the chair on which her traitorous former teammate was sitting. When she was close enough to touch him, she coated one hand in green chakra and reached out, allowing it to hover over his chest, and move across it slowly. She slowly moved his hand to hover over his stomach, and the then the rest of the tenketsu points in his body while Jiraiya watched her work. The snake sannin did nothing to stop her, merely allowing her to confirm what Pein-sama had told him years ago.

"He's right," she finally said, drawing her hand back and allowing the green chakra to disappear, "his tenketsu have been damaged almost irreparably. It's terribly optimistic to assume he'll ever be able to mold chakra for ninjutsu again, let alone in years."

Orochimaru gritted his teeth. Hearing that shook him more than he cared to admit, because he had been foolishly holding on to shreds of hope. But Tsunade had always been completely realistic in her diagnoses, and never sugarcoated anything for the benefit of a patient. It was part of her nindo as an iryounin.

Jiraiya's forehead was creased in a frown as he regarded his two former teammates, one who seemed strangely calm and the other who was holding back barely concealed hurt.

"So," he began, "I suppose you really were forced…" He thought of what he could do. There was still the possibility of killing him quickly, and it would be even easier now that they knew he was vulnerable. But it felt strange to kill someone who hadn't even seen daylight in over four years, and who had just proved himself mostly innocent of aiding the Akatsuki.

Jiraiya regarded him as innocent in that matter. The right thing to do would have been to refuse to help them, but Orochimaru wanted to be alive too much for his own good. His self-preservation alone would have had him obediently reanimating anything they tossed at him. But what he _wasn't _innocent for was experimenting on dozens of young children, along with his various other crimes.

"If he can't undo the Edo Tensei, we have no use for him," he declared, looking towards Tsunade, "we'll leave him here. Let's go, hime. We're under time constraints."

"Let me come with you," Orochimaru spoke up, standing up again suddenly, "I remember the basic layout from when I was led here."

"No!" The toad sannin snapped, red haori flying as he turned sharply, "why would we release you? I would love to drag you back to Konoha and allow you to enjoy our _own _prisons at T and I, but we have no time to watch you right now."

"What would I do, anyway?" He hissed, walking around the table with Tsunade following silently behind, a contemplating look on her face, "if I try to run off in these clothes, the Ame shinobi guards will re-capture me, or Konan-sama will find me. You won't need to watch me because staying by you is the only way I can get out alive." He came close enough to reach out and touch, with hair still falling over half his face.

Jiraiya simply watched him silently, a mistrusting look in his eyes.

Orochimaru put a hand on the table for support and stuck the heel of one foot into the floorboards. The other two watched as he kept striking it, until it came away at one end. He reached down and pried it off, putting one hand inside and drawing out a long blade.

Seeing that, Jiraiya's hair bristled again, prepared to form his Hari Jizo in case he attacked with it. But the snake sannin simply held onto the Blade of Kusanagi's hilt tightly, with whitening knuckles.

"For some reason, Itachi left me this," he spat, "so I can still be useful to whatever you two hope to accomplish here." The long blade that was said to be able to cut through anything was looking rather dull from being kept hidden for so many months, but its very edge was glittering and sharp.

"Itachi…" Tsunade breathed. It all came back to her, and the strange feeling she'd had made sense. It had been Itachi…

She remembered those long days with Itachi, where she had sat by her patient's side, tired and half-asleep while she listened to his delirious words. It had been hard to keep him alive for all that time, and she couldn't control the damage done to his mind like she could with that done to his body. She had barely been paying attention to any of it, but a few words had lodged themselves in her memory. Words where he had spoken about Orochimaru underneath the tower of Ame, and how he had been the one to deliver his 'projects'.

"He pitied you, I think," she told him, head tilted to one side, "seeing as your failure to defeat him or find his brother led to the loss of your freedom. He was presumably the one who brought you the cells of the shinobi you had to reanimate."

"How could you know that?" Orochimaru narrowed his eyes, still holding Kusanagi by his side.

"He told…me…" she was lost in though as she considered the older Uchiha boy's words.

_Yes…he is in the cells below the main tower. When…if…you ever go there, you must bring him back with you…do not…leave him there. _

"We have to leave, hime," Jiraiya said worriedly, "we don't have time to be dealing with him right now. Kakashi and Gaara are doing their best to hold off the others for us, and we can't waste any time."

Orochimaru was now watching her. Evidently, he had sensed her hesitance. He had originally focused on Jiraiya, knowing that he would have an easier time convincing him – who still saw him as a teammate deep inside – than Tsunade, who could be both stubborn and ruthless when she tried and had never taken much of a liking to him beyond slight admiration. But now, when she was looking down with such a contemplating expression, seemingly lost in some memory, he saw a new chance. He walked over to her and looked into her eyes with his purple-lined ones, trying to convey his harmlessness, "I can help," he said quietly, "I know the layout, and I know all the Edo Tensei that I made."

"This is a dangerous bet, hime," Jiraiya warned, one hand on the frame of the door, ready to leave, "and you know your luck with gambling very well. Our lives on the stake here."

But that was only with money. When it came to her life, she had inherited every drop of her grandfather's luck. She lost her bets with money, but when it came to betting her life, she always won.

After losing Nawaki and Dan, she couldn't afford to give up another precious person, no matter how far gone he was. Orochimaru had been a perfectly normal child, if a little twisted. He was still the Snake Sannin, the third part of their team. And now, when the diagnoses she had run had clearly indicated that he would have to push himself to his limits and train for years on end to reach the chakra control level of the average genin, when he had once aimed to master all the jutsu in the world…

Feeling her resolve harden, she looked up at Jiraiya, and her words were filled with purpose.

"I cannot leave a teammate behind."

ooooo

"Well, this seems like a nice place," Shizune commented, looking around at the large pipes on all sides, "some sort of irrigation system, I think."

'Nice' was the very last word that could have been used to describe it. In front of them, kilometers of large pipes stretched out, with water still slowly dripping off the metal from the rain. Thirty minutes behind them was the civilian industrial area, which they had run out of at top speed, ignoring the frozen people in their way who were looking towards the sky in pure shock.

"As long as we're not anywhere near the civilians," Kakashi sighed, running a hand through his drying hair, "this place should do. Lots of hiding spots."

"We're going to kick Pein's butt," Naruto declared, standing with his hands on his hips, "I'm not going to hide from him!" He looked on at the large pipes, each one almost as wide as he was tall. A few kilometers away, he could make out the figure of the central tower, which Jiraiya and Tsunade had probably already entered. He would leave Nagato to Ero-Sennin and baa-chan, and Pein would have to deal with Konoha's Number One Knuckleheaded Ninja.

"So I'm Naruto's backup, then," Yamato said grimly, "I'll try to help out as best as I can."

"Don't worry so much, Cat," Kakashi reached over to ruffle his former subordinate's brown hair, and the younger man glared back at him, "stay alert. If I sense that you or Naruto are in danger, I will intervene. If Madara arrives, we'll have to depend on Yugito and Utakata getting to us on time."

"The legends say that Uchiha Madara could control the bijuu with his visual prowess," Yamato said worriedly, "against an Ultimate Genjutsu user, even a chakra monster can fail…"

"I'm flattered," Kakashi replied, "but I've mastered one Mangekyou to the best of my ability and I think I would have a very hard time trying to fight Naru-kun at his best, let alone two other Jinchuuriki."

"But they won't be at their best," Shizune added, biting her lip. She leaned back against the metal of the closest pipe, crossing her arms over her damp kimono, "they'll be tired…"

"Don't worry," Naruto turned back to give them a thumbs up, "I won't let Kakashi-sensei face Madara-teme alone."

"Sh, Naruto, keep your voice down," Kakashi admonished. 'Covert' was not part of the boy's vocabulary. He really was his mother's son…

Suddenly, they all felt a strange presence nearby. The four members of Team Kakashi turned suddenly to the side, and they looked upwards to the top of one of the pipes. Six figures stood there, on top of the shining metal. Akatsuki cloaks covered their forms.

The Six Paths of Pein had found them.


	37. The Two Students of the Sage

**Chapter 37 – Team Kakashi & The Man who Became God**

Standing at the very front of the six figures was Deva Pein, Nagato's main form to the outside world. He looked down upon the four, but his eyes strayed to Kakashi.

"Hatake Kakashi," he spoke, "you saved us the trouble of looking for you." His voice was low, but not threatening. It was the typical, overconfident voice of Pein. Kakashi's well-trained emotions kept themselves in check upon seeing him. Naruto was not showing a speck of fear, so neither would he.

He frowned, "why me in particular?" Naruto was there, after all. He thought Pein would be more interested in the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi than a jonin, albeit a powerful one.

"You have been leading a force against the Akatsuki," Deva Pein went on, his face still and expressionless.

"Ah, right," he nodded in understanding. He'd almost forgotten that Utakata had made him out to be the leader of their group. Beside him, Naruto growled and stepped forward.

"Come down here," he called out, "we want to talk to you, Nagato!"

Shizune and Yamato winced as his words were heeded, and there was barely a flash before the orange-haired figure stood only a few meters in front of them. They took in the Akatsuki cloak, the myriad of black rods on either side of his face, and the eyes that sectioned into the lines of the Rinnegan. Seeing those pupil-less eyes made them understand why the people had been so willing to worship him. He was a truly intimidating figure.

"You break into Amegakure for the purpose of speaking, and bring the Kyuubi's Jinchuuriki with you?" Deva Pein asked, barely shifting as the five other paths appeared behind him, "you are foolish, Kakashi of the Sharingan." He was barely looking towards Naruto, instead completely focused on the masked jonin.

Kakashi stayed back, allowing Naruto to speak with him. He could spare the chakra required to take down one of the Paths, but anything beyond that would be risky if they encountered Madara afterwards.

"Just let us talk," Naruto told him, blue eyes narrowing, "there's something that you have to know."

"Speak, before your death," Deva Pein replied. Pein's unflinching gaze was driving kunai into his resolve, even as he reminded himself that he was Ero-Sennin's student deep down.

"We know about Uchiha Madara's existence," the blond boy declared.

For some reason, Pein barely blinked. "Is that all you wish to say before you submit to Pain?" He asked impassively, now focused on the Jinchuuriki to be captured, "if so, you have made a mistake in coming here."

Naruto gritted his teeth. Nagato wasn't surprised. Fine. They had much, _much _more to surprise him with.

ooooo

"Lead Sanbi's jinchuuriki away from here," Gaara instructed, turning back to look at Utakata, "we can't have the two fighting together."

"Understood," Utakata nodded, and raised his bubble blower to his lips. As he blew into it, a single bubble floated out, flying swiftly across the space between them. The faint hints of blue in the grey sky made it shimmer with color, and both Yagura and Fuu were transfixed, staring at it.

When he came close to the previous Mizukage, Yagura leapt back, barely moving out of the way before it burst with a small explosion near his cheek. The skin was ripped off with the surprise impact, but it slowly began to piece itself back together from the influence of the Edo Tensei. He turned his stitched face to Utakata, giving him a blank look.

"Yagura-sama! You have been reanimated, and you are being controlled to defeat us," Utakata yelled, "follow me, and I will explain." He turned to survey the surroundings.

Behind him were the gates of Ame, a collapsed pile of sharp-edged pieces on the ground from what Yugito had done to them. Outside were the wet marshes that stretched on for kilometers on end. Yonbi had followed Yugito there, but he wasn't sure he could do the same since it was difficult to fight on the soggy ground. He thought of the plan they had decided on. He was supposed to aid Team Kakashi once he had sealed this Jinchuuriki-Akatsuki, and he wasn't exactly the fastest traveler. It would be better to lead this somewhere closer to the grounds around the central tower.

From the map, Team Kakashi had planned to head to the free-looking land west of the civilian market area, approaching the main tower from the east. Jiraiya and Tsunade were planning to escape Ame via the northern borders, furthest from the shinobi living sector that was immediately south of the main tower.

From this, the closest place to head to that would make it easy to find Team Kakashi while keeping away from the Ame citizens would be the western side of the tower, where the shinobi industrial area was. It would probably wreck both shops and infrastructure, but it was the best that he could think of.

With that in mind, he started off towards the east, still blowing bubbles as he went. As he had asked, the reanimated Yagura was following him at a run. Utakata waited until their paces were the same before turning to him.

"Yagura-sama, can you speak?" He yelled, feeling the wind blowing more of his brown hair into his face as he ran. According the B, the Sandaime Raikage had been able to control his voice if not his body. Yagura-sama had been a terror over all of Kiri, but it had been well-known that despite his bloodthirsty tendencies, he was a level-headed kage. His rule over the Bloody Mist was something Utakata could never forgive, but no one deserved to have their corpse reanimated and controlled against their will.

"…yes," Yagura replied. His tone was slightly grim, and he surveyed Utakata from head to toe, "so I have been reanimated? Has Konoha declared war on us, or is this Uchiha Madara's doing?"

Utakata almost tripped over his kimono at that. Yagura-sama knew of Uchiha Madara's existence? But he had only disappeared a few years ago…

The Sanbi's Jinchuuriki took his surprise differently as he slowed his pace to catch up, "it is true, Uchiha Madara is alive," he explained. Coming from a body that looked like it belonged to a child, his voice was strangely serious, "he killed me just as I ascended to the position of Mizukage."

"That's not true," Utakata frowned, reaching up to push the hair out of his face as he ran faster, "you ruled as Mizukage for many years, Yagura-sama. No one knows how you died, but it was said that Yondaime Mei-sama challenged and defeated you to protest the Bloody Mist graduation practice."

Yagura stared back impassively as the wind he ran into blew his colorless hair back from his forehead, "who ever ruled during those years," he began, "was not me."

Utakata's mind whirred into thought as he ran through the grey streets of Ame. The very atmosphere was as clouded over as the sky, but a sense of dread was creeping up within him. Who had been in the Mizukage's office for all those years?...

They continued running until the wide streets that led to the shinobi apartment compounds were replaced by narrower roads in between shops and stalls. There wasn't a person in sight, but Utakata could have sworn he had seen a pale eye peer back at him from within a window, or a hand that quickly pulled a door closed. It seemed that Gaara had been correct about the alarm. Everyone had been told to stay inside, and they were obeying the orders thoroughly. The guards had been told to search for them and 'retrieve the bodies' after the Edo Tensei Jinchuuriki had defeated them, but no one else would be involved.

Luckily, the bells had sounded in the early morning, when most were still at home. Unlike the civilians, the shinobi who owned shops or stalls did not live above them. The two Jinchuuriki were almost completely alone in the district.

Yagura stopped running, skidding his feet across the wet ground in front of a shinobi weapons store. He turned to his opponent with contemplation in his colored eyes, "this 'Mei-sama', would she be Terumi Mei, the kunoichi who inherited the Yoton bloodline? The one who Ao-san has sworn loyalty to?"

"I believe so," Utakata answered, "Ao-dono is her advisor, and she is able to use the Yoton," his eyes scanned the surroundings to see that they were clear. There was nothing blocking the streets apart from a large paper statue nearby that resembled an angel, and all the shops were closed.

"Then I believe I understand what has happened," Yagura informed him, "Madara did not kill me that day. I am now certain that he placed me under a genjutsu that made me think I had died."

"Is that even possible?" Utakata wondered, "for so many years? And how would you guess that from knowing that Mei-sama succeeded you?"

"Ao-san is in possession of a Byakugan eye," he explained, "it is the doujutsu from Konohagakure which allows a person to see the chakra-disruption created by genjutsu. It seems that it was Madara who ruled Kirigakure after the loss of my will."

That was nothing less than a shock. Uchiha Madara had all but led Kirigakure? Utakata's hand tightened around his bubble blower, "Yagura-sama, will you aid me in defeating you? I, too, am a Jinchuuriki, but you have been a kage in your lifetime."

"First," the Yondaime Mizukage crossed his arms over his chest, allowing his giant staff to slide down to his elbow, "you must explain everything to me, Utakata."

"We are currently in…wait, how do you know my name?" Utakata's eye narrowed, "I do not remember ever meeting you directly during my lifetime."

A brief section of light passed over Yagura's face as the heavy clouds overhead momentarily parted for the sun. His black sclera shone across at the other Jinchuuriki, as if evaluating. The Yondaime Mizukage was not particularly known for his intelligence, but the very position of kage had forced him to learn through experience. His objective was to find out as much as he could, even if he had to exchange the information for aid in defeating him. "A bijuu," he began, "is one of the ultimate weapons."

From the dimension inside his mind, Saiken felt anger stirring up within him.

"They were once handed out to the Five Countries to keep the balance of power," Yagura continued, "but power was never meant to be balanced. As Suna fell, they were left with but one uncontrollable bijuu, the Ichibi. As Kumo rose, they took for themselves the Hachibi and Nibi. As Konoha turned into a village of pacifists, they struggled to keep the Kyuubi dormant, and allowed the Nanabi to escape. As Iwa gained power, they came into possession of the Yonbi and Gobi. And we, Kiri, have held onto our position with the help of the Sanbi and Rokubi. Now you see that a Jinchuuriki is more than a person. A Jinchuuriki is a tool." The way he said it was matter-of-fact. He was not attempting to insult, but merely stating what he, as kage, thought true. It was what many before him had told him.

_Isobu would burst if she ever heard those words, _Saiken growled, _she is lucky that she cannot communicate with this human in her state._

Utakata remained silent, but he was frowning. Yagura-sama was referring to his Saiken as if he had no consciousness of his own, and that was bothering him.

His bijuu had effectively ruined much of his life, and he knew that. From the day his tiny, five-year-old body had been dragged into that strange room to the day years later when Harusame-shishou had given his life trying to relieve him of his burden, Saiken had been watching silently from his cage. He had never tried to break out like the other bijuu, nor had be approached his jailer for most of his life. And when Hotaru had been in danger, Saiken had even come to his rescue, and not made use of his weakness afterwards to attempt escape.

Even if the Demon Slug had been the cause of his life as a missing-nin, he was not to blame. All he had ever done was remain quiet inside Utakata's mind.

"Do you think I would allow such a weapon to be created at random?" Yagura went on in his impassive tone, "no, the Jinchuuriki is always selected from the kage's line. You just happened to be the only child young enough to have a chance of surviving the sealing once the previous Jinchuuriki died. I am not even entirely sure how we are related, I left you with Harusame-san since I had no time to take care of a child."

"Shishou…he wanted to protect me by reversing the sealing," Utakata murmured, "he gave his life trying," he looked down at where his blue kimono pooled near his feet, still wet and muddy from the previous rain. Remembering the hand that had forced its way into his stomach…

"So even Harusame-san had loyalties elsewhere," Yagura observed, "maybe I expected too much of him."

"I…ran away," Utakata told him quietly, still a little lost, "I became a missing-nin. I understand why you never tried harder to find me. You were probably under Madara's influence at the time, and he wouldn't have known about my being a jinchuuriki."

"Indeed, you would have never been allowed to leave if I had my will," the other Jinchuuriki stated, "we nearly lost Sanbi once, during the war. Kiri would have been greatly weakened if it lost Rokubi as well."

_So people really see the bijuu in such a way? _Utakata mentally wondered, _as tools of war?..._

_Indeed. It is pathetic when the children of the Rikudo Sennin are mere playthings for the humans who pride themselves on small specks of chakra, _the Demon Slug continued, _so far, I have only helped you in order to defeat the one who used that seal. But this person…_

_He doesn't know better, _Utakata attempted to stand up for his fellow human, _he doesn't seem to have ever spoken for long with his bijuu…_

He gritted his teeth as he felt the Rokubi's chakra shimmer around him. Instead of his usual nonchalance, Saiken was filled with anger. He looked up at where Yagura was standing calmly.

"Yagura-sama," he called, "please do not use any jutsu beyond what the Edo Tensei commands. I wish to seal you away." But Yagura didn't reply.

Utakata put the bubble blower to his lips again, and blew quickly. The Santoka spheres made of corrosive liquid quickly flew across the space between them.

Instead of dodging the bubbles, he swatted them away with his arm, not even wincing when they burnt through his flesh. The arm quickly reconstructed itself, coming together until it was completely unharmed. But before he could bring his hands together, Utakata was forming hand seals of his own.

"Suiton: Houmatsu no Jutsu!"

Hundreds of small bubbles emerged, filling the area with the sound of popping and rushing water. They flew across at his opponent, and this time, Yagura had to dodge. If he allowed too many of the bubbles to hit him, it would take time to heal, and his given target could escape. He pulled his long staff off his back and slammed one end into the ground, using the momentum to leap up onto the roof of the weapon's store behind him.

While the bubbles distracted him, Utakata ran into the store, keeping his footsteps light. He pulled the door closed behind him, and looked upwards, where a thin ceiling separated him from Yagura's feet.

_Saiken, I will use your chakra, _he commanded. Almost immediately, he felt more chakra flooding into his system. Slowly, his physical form shimmered and changed, and large blue tails of chakra grew from his back. The bubble blower went back inside the bamboo jug, and he raised both hands above him, concentrating chakra into the space between them.

"Bijuudama!"

The ball of black chakra shot up, bursting through the roof. Pieces of wood and metal rained down on him, but sizzled away when they came into contact with the Slug's corrosive chakra around him. Above him, he saw a hint of green sandals as Yagura flew out of the way while dodging.

_Let me out, _Saiken growled, _and then I'll teach him what a bijuu truly is…_

Utakata hesitated, but he sensed the Slug's emotions. They were filled with fury at what the Yondaime Mizukage had said. But letting Saiken run rampant had its risks. There was the chance of him wasting too much chakra, and being unable to aid Kakashi-san, or losing his control so far that he could no longer use the seals.

_I will let you take over if need be, _the Demons Slug edged closer to him within the dimension in his mind, _remain here and control your movements. Leave the attacks to me._

Before he could make his decision, a flare of red around him alerted that he had entered his Version One. He felt the chakra flood his tenketsu, the tails rose red and black behind him.

"Utakata," the brown-haired man looked up sharply at the voice with a face that shimmered in the transient form of the bijuu's chakra. Above him, Yagura peered down into the store from the destroyed roof, leaning one elbow against his knee. His staff was swung back onto his shoulder, and the only evidence of the attack was the leg that was slowly piecing itself back together.

"You are losing control," Yagura advised, colored eyes peering deeply into his, "that is not good. It is _you _who must be in control, as a successful Jinchuuriki."

Utakata frowned at the words.

"Although the fact the Slug is able to go so far indicates that either Harusame did not perform a perfect sealing, or that you have loosened the seal yourself," the Mizukage went on, "and both of those are disturbing possibilities for Kiri," he looked up, his eyes scanning the grey rainclouds overhead and the bleak village view he could see from he roof, "but where is this place?"

_Let me out, _Saiken said quietly, with a glint of steel to his voice, _this person is now mine to defeat. You've played with him enough._

Realizing that Utakata could not answer, Yagura turned back to him, "fight, Utakata. I would like to at least see how well you can perform with the bijuu's chakra. Come up to seal me, I will agree to your request. You are my kin, after all."

_Let me take him, _Saiken said once again. With the weak seal that had been laid on his Jinchuuriki, he could break out into Version One fully if he wanted. But he held back even within his anger, because that could cause damage.

_All right, _Utakata told him, feeling his Version One solidify slightly, _I will allow you to fight Yagura-sama. But remember that I must seal him._

_I will destroy him,_ the Demon Slug promised.

ooooo

"Will he be ok, B?" Gaara asked quietly, "I do not know the full extent of his abilities."

"He'll be fine, kono yaro," the Kumo nin replied. His voice was muffled by the sword held between his teeth, "Utakata's strong, baka yaro." His six other swords were held in various positions around his body, including his underarms and the crook of his knee. Gaara had been rather suspicious about his fighting style at first, but he understood that the Kumo Jinchuuriki had his own way of doing things.

"Yes, but these are reanimations," Gaara turned to look at the last Edo Tensei Jinchuuriki. She was standing in place, looking around from side to side and taking in the destroyed gates and the empty watch houses inside. All the guards had retreated by Konan's command, and the ones that had arrived at first were still strewn on the ground, mostly unconscious. She was wearing an Akatsuki cloak that hid her form, but there was a Taki hitai-ite tied around her arm, over the cloak. She ran one hand through her green hair and grinned slightly.

"Ok," she began, "so what exactly is happening? I'm confused, and I'd rather not fight anyone." She eyed B's swords warily.

"I'm afraid you won't be able to help it," Gaara told her grimly, "soon, the commands will catch up to you, and you'll be forced to fight us. Someone is controlling your body."

"Well that's not cool," she frowned, "I just started feeling it, it's like someone's pushing my chakra out and forcing me to use it. I'll try to hold it off for a little while I figure out what the heck is happening – hey wait, you're from Kumo!" She narrowed her eyes at B's hitai-ite, "are you here to capture me again?"

"Nah," B mumbled around his sword, "you've already been captured, baka yaro."

"Wha-" her orange eyes widened as she remembered what had last happened to her, and her shoulders sunk, "…oh. _Oh_." She suddenly looked absolutely miserable.

"You have been reanimated. We are sorry for your loss," Gaara stated, slightly uncomfortable that he had to take down someone who looked so forlorn. The sand rose around him, but didn't attack. If there was a chance that she could help them seal her, then they could conserve chakra when they went to help Jiraiya and Tsunade.

"Yeah, it was those stupid orange stone-faces…" she grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest, "Choumei helped me out, but there was only so much she could do with me because I'm still young." It was true, the girl didn't look any older than sixteen. She couldn't have had a lot of time to train and become proficient in using her Jinchuuriki.

"So Pein got you? Don't look blue," B advised removing the sword from his mouth with one hand, "avenging you is what we're gonna do."

"You ran away from your village?" Gaara questioned, carefully keeping his sand prepared to defend.

"Well I had to!" She exclaimed, "all you stupid hidden villages had just figured out about Choumei! I kicked those Kumo jonin's butts, but when I heard that Iwa was planning to try their hand at getting me too, I had to leave. Taki isn't a big hidden village like the one you're from," she eyes Gaara's Suna hitai-ite, "it's just a small place with lots of old people and children, and we lived off the land. They didn't have the resources to protect someone like me."

"How'd you get a bijuu?" B wondered.

"Well, there's this thing we have called the Eiyu no Mizu, and drinking it gives you ridiculous amounts of chakra, but it also kills you," she explained, all her melancholy suddenly gone as she talked about her home village. She certain was an expressive jinchuuriki, "the first leader of Taki sacrificed himself to seal Choumei into some kid when she accidently attacked our village."

Gaara had half a mind to ask how a bijuu could 'accidently attack' anything, but he let her continue.

"Since then, new Taki shinobi have been sacrificing themselves every fifty years or so to reseal Choumei in someone else, cause they didn't know what else to do. No one but me has ever talked to her, you see. Poor Chou never _really _wanted to cause any trouble, but it keeps catching up with her, you know? She's accident prone!" She pouted, "and now I can't even talk to her. Being dead sucks!"

"And who are you, kono yaro?" B asked again, now slightly confused. His behind was getting slightly cramped from staying still for such a long time with a sword held with the back of his knee.

"I'm Lucky Seven Fuu!" She posed with one hand outstretched, green hair flipped over her shoulder, "Jinchuuriki of the Nanabi Choumei!" She looked out at her arm and seemed to suddenly realize that it was clothed, "and what is _with _this cloak? I never wore something like this; it's so impractical! Wait…it's the same cloak that stone-face was wearing!"

They watched as she tried to take off the cloak, but struggled when she realized that she couldn't because her body was being taken over. Gaara raised an eyebrow when she began to control strangely, trying to rip off the cloak with the small amount of motion that the Edo Tensei permitted her appendages to go through.

"She reminds me of Naruto," he deadpanned, "she'll definitely help us."

ooooo

"Do you expect us to believe something like that?" Deva Pein asked, having not moved once since Naruto had begun speaking, "I have never heard of such a seal."

"It's true!" Naruto exclaimed, stomping his foot in frustration, "Madara wants to take your eyes! He's just using you!"

"Naruto, calm down," Kakashi said softly, putting a hand on the boy's shoulder, "remember what Itachi said? Maybe it's true that he's too far gone-"

"No!" The blond boy said with a determined look, "Nagato and I are both Ero-Sennin's students! We're brothers by circumstance, I can bring him back!"

Behind him, Shizune and Yamato looked on worriedly. The boy had spent an hour explaining in detail all he knew about the use of the time seal and all that had led to it, but Pein did not believe any of it. The Paths had simply stood there, looking down at the fool who had broken into their village to spew lies. Around them, the village was lighting up with the sparse daylight that filtered through Ame's clouds, but there wasn't a sound to be heard. The nine rings of the alarm earlier had indicated a village-wide lockdown, and the civilians and shinobi were all hiding inside their houses.

"I can credit you for successfully predicting my planned attack on Konoha to retrieve you, and knowing things that should not be common knowledge," Pein told him, "but that information could have been leaked to you. I already know that your tale is false."

"How?" Naruto challenged, turning back to the Paths.

Deva Pein didn't even blink, "I would never use the Rinne Tensei to bring those people to life. That jutsu is reserved for another," he said. Behind him, Asura Pein grinned widely, amused at their victim. Unlike the impassive Deva Path, he and the Human Path were looking on in delight, anxious to take down the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi.

At this, Naruto faltered, "but…how could you think like that? Don't you remember Ero-Sennin's dreams? I know that you aim for peace, you told me about how you suffered during the war!" His hands clenched into fists as he stared unflinching into Pein's concentric eyes.

"So Jiraiya-sensei has told you of my past, and you know about my abilities. No one had ever learned as much about Pein," Deva Pein commented, "of course, it is true. We desire peace more than anything else."

"Naruto Therapy isn't working," Shizune whispered to Yamato, looking slightly worried. Secretly, the two of them had depended on it. When Naruto had looked at them with those unwavering eyes and told them that Nagato was his precious person, they had believed him. But now…it seemed that Pein was unmoving. Not a word of what Naruto had said registered with him.

The mokuton user ran a hand through his damp hair, "I'm prepared to help Naruto-kun however I can," he told her, "and I've heard that Naruto Therapy works better when fists are involved, anyway."

"But doesn't that usually involve _Naruto-kun _being hurt until the very end, when his opponent somehow turns sides?" She asked quietly, "we can't afford to have him hurt. We have to face Madara."

"Well, it's true that he's slightly masochistic," Yamato conceded, "that's probably why he and his sadistic teammates make such a fine team," he gave her an encouraging smile, "but I find that no matter how he acts, you can't help but feel a little safer when Naruto is around."

Shizune gave him a watery smile and turned to look in front, where one furious blond boy was waving his fists at the Paths of pein.

"How could what you do lead to peace?" Naruto yelled, "It will only lead to more death! You destroyed my village and killed its people. You work with Madara, who risked both the past and the future to get his way!"

Deva Pein stepped forward from the others, and against the backdrop of the grey pipes and the gloomy sky, his orange hair was shockingly bright, a reminder of the cheerful, ambitious boy that the body had once belonged to. Those powerful eyes and stern face with such boyish hair were unnerving.

"You dare say that when you know the history of the village you stand in?" He asked quietly, "they suffered the same fate as the people in your tale, did they now? Do you not believe in justice?"

Naruto faltered again, but his resolve doesn't break, "I-"

"Vengeance is justice, and it breeds more vengeance, strengthening the chains of hatred. To know hate is to know Pain, and I will be the god that brings Pain into the world," he said. The pipes amplified his voice, and Shizune and Yamato shivered at the sound, "the love which you claim to believe in leads only to sacrifice, which breeds hate, and that in turn leads to Pain. When the world knows Pain, there will be no love or hate. There will only be peace."

"Am I the only one having trouble following his line of reasoning?" Yamato wondered quietly.

Shizune spared a moment to give him a consoling pat on the back of his hand, "it's alright, he lost me at the 'sacrifice breeds hate' part."

Unfortunately, Deva Pein seemed to have heard their whispers. Those rimmed eyes stared directly at Shizune, causing her to jump. Yamato squeezed her hand and prepared to defend if they were attacked.

"You must be foolish indeed if you believe that sacrifice does not lead to hate," he said blankly. Naruto stepped in front of her, glaring forwards with eyes that were beginning to tinge with red.

Shizune tried not to falter as she spoke, "I sacrificed most of my childhood to care for my shishou," she explained softly, "Maybe I could have tried harder to keep her away from the gambling houses, but I did my best. I don't ever remember hating anyone for the sacrifice I made."

She couldn't believe that she had just talked to a user of the Rinnegan, the legendary doujutsu of the Rikudo Sennin. But in a way, Naruto had the right idea with his Therapy. If this Nagato was really so mislead, then maybe all it would take was a good push in the opposite direction. He had been Jiraiya-sama's student, after all. No one who studied under that pervert could have a permanently bad heart.

"Shizune nee-chan is right!" Naruto yelled, "Ero-Sennin sacrificed three years of his life to stay behind and teach you and Yahiko and Konan, and he never hated anyone for it!"

"It is only the simple minded who think that way," was Pein's only reply, "bringing peace for every person requires the world to know Pain."

"Naruto," Kakashi's hand tightened around his student's shoulder, "this won't work. We've told him everything…maybe Itachi was right. After all, he's spent much more time with Madara than he previously did-"

"Fine!" Naruto growled quietly, "maybe I can beat the sense into him." While Nagato's Six Paths looked on, he turned quickly back to his teammates, eyeing each of them in turn.

"Kakashi-sensei, Yamato-senpai, Shizune nee-chan" he began quietly, "this is what I want you to do…"

ooooo

The Blade of Kusanagi whirled through the air, and skewered a man through the stomach. It's tip was slowly staining the guard's uniform red, while the hilt was clutched in Orochimaru's pale hand.

He drew it back slowly, face impassive as the blade dripped with blood. Beside him, two other guards were already on the floor, their uniforms stained in the same way.

"I could have done it cleaner. There was no need for that," Tsunade spoke up, voice betraying disapproval. She narrowed her eyes at her former teammate and watched him look at his katana. His eyes end no blood thirst, but they were contemplating.

"I warned you that we shouldn't have brought him," Jiraiya growled, "Itachi was too much of a pacifist for his own good. But despite his uneasiness, he was willing to take Tsunade's decision as his own.

"I didn't aim for any organs," Orochimaru replied slowly, wiping his weapon clean on the man's uniform, "they should be fine if found within the next few hours. It's been years since I fought."

Along with the hint of exhilaration at being able to use a different tool than his brush, there was another emotion. One that he had felt since his teammates had allowed him to leave the room. It was a mix of relief, and unfairness, and freedom, and confinement.

Relief, because he was finally out of Pein-sama's grasp. Unfairness, because the years he had spent planning how to regain his ninjutsu were now pointless, and lost. He would never be a great shinobi again, and he struggled to remain out of denial. Freedom, because he was exiting his physical prison and would see the outside world after almost forgetting what it looked like. Confinement, because he had seen the look in Tsunade's eyes. Even if she was somehow releasing him from the cell, she was chaining him to herself, and that was something he would never be able to escape.

"You've had your moment, now move," Tsunade instructed, watching him disapprovingly, "we don't have time for this. You can tell us about everyone you've reanimated while we walk."

"Right," he nodded, dark hair falling into his face. Kusanagi was clenched in his right hand, and he straightened with a clean blade, allowing the guard to drop back to the ground.

They walked in silence for a few minutes; fast enough to cover ground, but slow enough to allow Orochimaru to slowly reacquaint himself with his legs. Tsunade briefly considered healing his atrophy, but decided not to waste chakra on it. After using her White Strength seal to defeat Sasori and the Sandaime Kazekage, and bring Gaara and Itachi back from the brink of death, her reserves no longer consisted of chakra that she had saved for decades. She currently held only a few months of chakra. That alone was at Kage level, but it wasn't wise to push it.

"So," Jiraiya began, "you owe us information. Speak."

Orochimaru sighed, "I'll tell you anything you want," he conceded, "I would be ecstatic if you managed to defeat the Akatsuki."

"Then start," Tsunade ordered, "tell us about everyone you reanimated."

"I'll decide what's important," he snapped, "many of my seals were for average shinobi. There was this mid-level Iwa jonin, a young girl from Takigakure, and a few other nondescript ones. I do not know why Pein-sama ordered me to reanimate them," he began, "but there were others…a few years ago I was brought the cells of the Sandaime Raikage."

"We know," she said grimly, "we have faced him. Who else?"

Orochimaru thought of telling them about _him. _Surely it would allow them to be more prepared. But then…if they had found out what he had done, his teammates could simply murder him on the spot. He decided to remain quiet. His Jiraiya and Tsunade were frighteningly strong, but faced against _his _immortal body? They had little chance. He only hoped that he could escape quietly during the fight. _He _fought large battles, after all. If every eye in Ame were trained on _him, _a small snake would go unnoticed.

"Well," he said, "there's something else that I think you should know first," their footsteps were loud in the hall, but that was fine. The guards who came their way would find themselves impaled on Kusanagi before they could blink.

"Who? Be quick about it, we don't have time," Jiraiya growled, red haori billowing behind him as he walked swiftly after his traitorous teammates. Orochimaru was leading them through the tower, to where he thought the central rooms would be. His presence meant that they were probably going to finish before the planned time, but it never hurt to be wary.

"There is an Akatsuki member who has a Sharingan," he replied quietly, "you have seen him before during the chunin exams. He wore an orange mask and went by the name of Tobi." He paused mid-step and turned to look at them, prepared to be told that he was mistaken. But he _knew _what he had seen, and he had seen it well. Even if his teammates ridiculed him, he would not stand down.

Tsunade stopped as well, "A Sharingan…Tobi…" She murmured, giving Jiraiya a worried look, "that's him, isn't it?"

Orochimaru's eyebrow almost disappeared beyond his hairline, "you…are not surprised that there is _another Uchiha_!? Tobi is a _real _Uchiha; he can deactivate the Sharingan! He's not like Minato's studet!" He glared at his teammates incredulously. Did they know something he didn't?

"We know who he is," Jiraiya said grimly, "and we know that he is probably the true leader of the Akatsuki." He stroked his chin, looking bothered.

_Tobi _was the leader of the Akatsuki? That couldn't be right. This was _Tobi _they were talking about! The stupid, immature, failure of an Akatsuki member! Having a Sharingan did not automatically make one an S-class shinobi!

"That can't be right," he protested, "Pein-sama is the leader of the Akatsuki."

Jiraiya gave him a contemplating look, wondering if he should be told. Finally deciding that his information was still valuable, he spoke, "we know from Itachi that Tobi is in fact Uchiha Madara," he explained, "_he_ is the one we must defend against."

The snake sannin was looking at them as if they had suddenly grown a few more heads, "you two," he began, "have lost it…why would Itachi tell you that?"

"Itachi sacrificed his life for his younger brother," Tsunade explained, "he only joined Akatsuki to keep an eye out for Madara, but his true loyalties were always with Konoha. Before he died, he told us that he had found out Madara was disguised as a masked Akatsuki member named Tobi, and told us to beware of him."

"I…won't even attempt to inform you of how silly it is to believe Uchiha Itachi is loyal to Konoha. There is a different issue here. _Tobi _cannot be Madara," Orochimaru replied between gritted teeth, "_Tobi _has declared his undying love to 'Orochimaru-senpai'. And offered to elope. More than once. I believe he's also attempted to molest me while I was sleeping during a mission."

"Well serves you right, you big pedophile," Jiraiya shot in, "that alone makes me want to not believe myself. There's no way Uchiha Madara is in any way attracted to _you_. Trying to look feminine is not attractive! Unless-"

"For the last time Jiraiya I do _not _try to look feminine," Orochimaru hissed, "and I am not interested in other men. Not all males are as perverted as you." He felt the desperate need to put Kusanagi to use, quelled only by the solemn understanding that his weakest teammate was now leagues ahead of him in power. It was a sobering thought, and he thrust it from his mind.

"Right," the toad sage nodded, "that's why you bit poor Anko-chan's neck and went after the younger Uchiha boy," he crossed his arms, "clearly I was wrong when I assumed you had a thing for men. It's the _younger_ ones you'reafter."

The snake sannin glared back, "I put a chakra seal on my student! You should know, you thickheaded fuuin master! If she had gone with me it would have been perfectly dormant, it was her choice to stay."

"Child abuse," Jiriaya replied virtuously, turning his nose in the air.

"She was the student I chose, and her parents were perfectly willing to let me put dangerous weapons in her hands when she was six! I could have left her in the middle of the forbidden forest and everyone would have passed it off as training, but when I put a seal on her it's suddenly child abuse?"

"And Uchiha Sasuke? I suppose going after him was perfectly platonic?"

"I wasn't interested in him! I only wanted his body!" Orochimaru hissed out, gritting his teeth when his teammate smiled triumphantly. He didn't notice the loosening of the arms crossed over red cloth, or the loss of the slight frown on the toad sannin's face.

"Do we need to start this again?" Tsunade wondered. Arguments over Orochimaru's preferences had been rampant when they had been a team. The younger Jiraiya would drag his frigid teammate to the bathhouse with him, and Orochimaru, who seemed to have _some _sort of moral framework, would dutifully close his eyes. This always turned into the subject of endless banter, until Hiruzen-sensei and Tsunade would pull them apart and shut them up.

"We are in the middle of enemy territory, and probably meters away from a user of one of the strongest doujutsu in existence," she said harshly, "catching up can be done later."

"Later? When this snake plans to sneak away?" Jiraiya asked. But for some reason, the hard glint was gone from his voice.

"I was the one who took Itachi's words and released him," she said lightly, "and I'm going to take responsibility for what comes of my decision. He can _try _running." Her tone made both her teammates shiver slightly.

"…getting back to the information retrieval," Jiraiya cleared his throat, "do you know anything more about Madara?"

Orochimaru clenched his fists and once again considered telling them about the seal. But that was a last resort. His self-preservation prevented him from saying it. If there was only a way…

"Uchiha Madara is dead," he said quietly. It was hard to protest without protesting _too _much. If he overdid it, it would only seem suspicious.

"Tobi is Madara. He may seem silly, but he's dangerous," Tsunade reinforced, "Orochimaru, we know what we are talking about. There are things that we cannot tell you right now. Go on and explain the other shinobi you've drawn seals for."

_And there are things that _I _cannot tell _you_, _he bit his lip in frustration. His teammates were pursuing a blind goal, and unless _he _showed up or a small miracle happened, these two were his only way out. And even if he managed to escape on his own, he would be ambushed and captured by the rogues in the forests beyond the marshes; there was only so much he could do with only Kusanagi.

"Tsunade…" He recalled that there was another piece of information, "that cannot be Madara. Uchiha Madara was known as the most powerful Uchiha because he had twoMangekyou Sharingan, the ultimate doujutsu. But Tobi only has one; his other eye socket is empty. His Sharingan was taken. Unless you want to think that there was someone powerful enough to take Madara's eye without anyone else knowing…" he clearly remembered the moment when Tobi's mask had slipped. It was burned into his memory.

At that, the other two Sannin faltered, and they stood quietly in the middle of the grey hall below the tower. They had hours at most to find and take Nagato, but they needed to stop, simply to think.

"Jiraiya," Tsunade began, "what do you think of this? Itachi…never mentioned Madara until _we _did. Maybe…he allowed us to think that it was Madara, simply so we could be prepared…"

"Uchiha Madara was the only one who ever had the visual prowess to control the bijuu," Jiraiya stressed, "and something like that does not necessarily require two Sharingan eyes."

"But, think of how he acted," she tried, "Itachi said that Madara made him make _that _decision, so why would be leave the chance to kill Sasuke and finish the job? He _had _a chance; Kakashi told me that Gai and his teammates were the only ones between him and the unconscious Sasuke after the exams. If he was as powerful as the legends, he could have killed him right then."

"He's over a hundred," the toad sannin retorted, "we can't expect his thought processes to make sense when he's probably going senile. Wanting to elope with the snake here is a sign of senility no matter what the age." Despite his words, the seeds of doubt were already growing in his mind.

"But it doesn't make sense," she tapped her foot in frustration, "Itachi tells us that a one-eyed Uchiha is Madara himself?" She turned back to Orochimaru, "you're protesting too much. That tell me that there's something you're not telling us. Is there a…basis…on which you say that Uchiha Madara is dead?"

Orochimaru knew that he was caught, but lowered his head and nodded slightly. At least they didn't need to know that he had actually _completed _it.

There was silence in the hall as they contemplated it. Tsunade bit her lip in worry, hopelessly trying to quell the fear that rose within her. Jiraiya was distracted by other, strange thoughts that made their way into his head. He turned to his third teammate slowly.

"Orochimaru…tell us what you saw behind Tobi's mask," he instructed quietly.

The snake sannin didn't know what was happening, but he saw the serious look in his former teammate's eyes, "it slipped when I threw a scroll at him," he began, "and I saw his eyes when he leaned forward to push it back on. He had a few strange scars on one side of his forehead, a Sharingan in his right eye, and nothing in his left eye socket, although the socket looked healthy still and was not eroded, signaling a medical extraction?" He looked towards Tsunade, who nodded.

"Then someone must have captured him and then removed one eye," Orochimaru went on, "it wouldn't have been too hard. Tobi is not nearly as powerful as the other Akatsuki members, although I'm beginning to question that."

He thought the words were benign information, until he realized that Jiraiya's eyes were wide.

"Which side…had the scars?" The toad sage asked again.

"The right side, I remember very clearly. Long scars that continued down his forehead, although I didn't see down past his eyes," the pale man replied hesitantly, "it's clear why he wears that mask, now. Have you heard of him, Jiraiya?"

A strange thought appeared in Jiraiya's mind, and he forced himself to push it down. He had heard the story, of course. Everyone in Konoha had heard it. But as the jonin-sensei of Namikaze Minato, he had heard it in more detail than most. He had come back from Konoha-Iwa frontlines to see that peace had finally been established with the sacrifice of an innocent boy, and it'd had Sakumo's son trying not to cry in his new Hokage's arms.

But that couldn't be right. It _wasn't possible. _Even with an iryounin of Tsunade's caliber, something like that would take years…maybe decades. The thought rose again when he realized that it _had _been decades.

ooooo

"Buhi! Buhi! Buhi!"

"Calm down, young pig!" Maito Gai stumbled on his branch as the pig in his arms waved about, wildly thrashing its hoofs. Tonton didn't stop, and he took a hoof to the cheek while steadying himself by putting a hand on the trunk of the tree. The small pig's wailing pulled out a single shiny black strand of hair from his head, and he almost felt his eyes tear up.

"Buhi! Buhi!" Tonton waved her hoofs all in one direction, hanging off one of her holder's arm.

"I told you I should carry her," Uchiha Sasuke sighed as he leapt forward onto the older jonin's branch, "here, give me the poor thing. I really won't care if you tell Shizune-san that you took care of her the entire time-"

"Buhi!" Even as Gai desperately thrust the animal into the Uchiha boy's hands, the pig continued her thrashing, still waving her hoofs to the side.

"Gai-sensei! Sasuke! Sai! On alert!" Sakura's sharp voice cut through their surroundings as she appeared in front of them on the same branch, kunai in either hand.

"Yes, Sakura-taicho!" Within seconds, Sai was standing on the other side of the two, watching their backs. An anbu operative didn't ask questions, he simply acted. Since he was still in his green tights, he skillfully blended into the leaves. For some reason, he had taken a liking to the suit. Sakura and Sasuke had contemplated going through with their threat of stripping him, but they had been surprised because this was one of the few times Sai had shown genuine liking for something. They weren't about to rob the pale boy of the few emotions he was slowly getting back.

Between them, Gai and Sasuke looked confused.

"…Sakura? What happened?" Sasuke asked in a harsh whisper, still struggling to keep Tonton steady in his arms. Sakura noted the direction the pig's hoofs were pointing and turned to it, knees slightly bent as she prepared to dodge or block at any moment.

"Tonton is a tracker," she yelled back, "the fact that she's having this sort of reaction…there's a very powerful shinobi somewhere nearby, heading directly for us. Prepare for confrontation, all of you."

"What?" Sasuke's eyes widened. He glanced around the forest, which was still apart from the rustle of small animals, and then followed Sakura to the ground under the branch. Beside him, Gai had taken his stance, keeping an eye on Sakura's blind spot, and Sai leapt down to crouch behind them with his brush, ready to provide support. The four members of Team Sakura remained in their positions, waiting breathlessly. Tonton slowly quieted when she realized that the humans had understood what she had sensed.

"Powerful shinobi, eh? I guess we lost our surprise attack." A loud voice began to emerge from the trees, in the direction Tonton's hoofs had been pointing, "clever pig."

At first, the figure was hard to see, because of the shadows that concealed him. As he moved closer, they began to see the base of his cloak, a black one with the beginning of a red cloud. Sakura and Sasuke started when more of the material was revealed.

"That's…" The Uchiha boy's eyes widened.

"Akatsuki," Sakura finished grimly, "like Itachi." Her hand tightened around the kunai.

He came forward, and the shadows were swept behind him, revealing a blue face with strange gills jutting out of his cheeks, and his wide grin put sharp, shark-like teeth on display. Thrown over one shoulder was a giant, bandaged _thing _with a handle that the Akatsuki member held firmly in one blue hand. Around his forehead was a Kiri hitai-ite with a wide slash across it, marking him as a missing-nin.

"This person is from the Akatsuki?" Gai asked, slowly stepping forward from between the two younger jonin. Sakura may have been the mission leader, but the presence of someone from the famed organization of missing-nin automatically moved the mission up to S-rank. As the most senior jonin among them, the others were now his responsibility. And his Eternal Rival wasn't the only jonin known for protecting his teammates.

"Do not worry," he told him, his voice revealing his seriousness, "I will not allow any of you to die."

Sasuke's hold on Tonton loosened. There were three jonin on this mission, and Gai-sensei was an elite, strange appearance or no. If they went too far, he could always activate his Mangekyou to use against them. He hadn't ever trained with it since it was supposed to be kept hidden, so he wasn't sure if his chakra reserves and stamina could keep up. It was a last resort.

"This is worrying," Sai commented, his voice still strangely calm as usual. Having a complete lack of emotions was useful sometimes, because he was never frightened, "there is a second one."

At this, Sasuke's hold tightened as he looked again. He had been so absorbed in the shark-like man that he hadn't seen the other, shorter figure until he was completely out of the shadows. The second was just as strange as the first, in that he wore a spiraling orange mask with a hole for only one eye. An identical black cloak hid his form from the neck down.

Sakura stilled. Tenten and Neji had told her about the abandoned kidnapping attempt on her teammate and Naruto had mentioned that there was an Akatsuki member after him. She vaguely recalled Tenten mentioning an orange mask, swirling out just like this one.

"Oh! Green Beast-san is here!" The figure exclaimed happily, twirling in delight, "this is so wonderful," he and the taller, blue man stopped a few meters in front of Team Sakura.

Gai squinted, one hand still held out in defense, "you look…familiar," he said slowly. He tried to keep an eye on both opponents, but he realized that he was outnumbered. One S-rank missing-nin, he could take. But even Konoha's Sublime Beast knew his limits. He shot a glance to either side of him to see Sakura and Sasuke looking on with determined eyes, and felt the anbu boy's presence behind him. He would need the help of his Eternal Rival's Youthful students to deal with these two.

The masked figure almost tripped mid-step, and placed a finger to his mask, over his lips, "Green Beast-san…does not remember?"

"_Very_ familiar," Gai emphasized, trying to sort through his memories.

"I think he's the one who attempted to kidnap Sasuke," Sakura offered helpfully from behind him, not taking her eyes off their opponents, "his name is…Tobi?" She remembered the green-eyed boy in the henge who had fought Sasuke.

"Ah, Pinky-chan is correct!" the figure straightened and clapped his hands in glee.

"I remember now!" The older jonin pointed at the masked figure triumphantly, "you are the one…who wore that mask!"

This time, the Akatsuki member really did trip. Beside him, Sasuke gave a weary sigh and Sakura struggled to keep her palm away from her face. As the masked man picked himself up, the larger one raised an eyebrow, "and who are you?" He asked in an unimpressed tone.

"I am Konoha's Sublime Green Beast, Maito Gai!" Gai exclaimed. Even in a situation like this, an opportunity for a Dynamic introduction should not go untaken.

"Maito Gai? You sure are a mighty stupid _looking _guy," the shark-man drawled, "I am Hoshigaki Kisame, formerly a shinobi of Kiri."

"And Tobi is Tobi-kun!"

"-Hand over the Uchiha boy and we could even let you make it back to your village alive." He tapped the bandaged thing over his shoulder as he spoke. Sakura vaguely recognized that it was some kind of sword.

At this, Sasuke started. They wanted him? If they were from Akatsuki…then that meant they probably guessed that he had taken Itachi's eyes.

"Itachi-chibi," Hoshigaki Kisame continued, "come over here and fight us yourselves. If you keep hiding behind your teammates, I won't spare their lives." He grinned at him, exposing sharp, serrated teeth again.

"You knew my brother?" Sasuke asked sharply, leaning down to place Tonton on the ground before drawing three shuriken from his pouch.

"We were good friends," Kisame went on, "at least, we were as friendly as Itachi seemed capable of. Last I saw, he went to take your eyes. Such a pity he failed, but maybe Pein-sama will let me choose you as my new partner to make up for it. You seem like a moody brat, you'll do fine." He seemed to truly enjoy the banter, as well as the murderous look on the Uchiha boy's face. When the shuriken came flying at his face, he dodged them easily, and the grin never slid off his face.

"Bastard! You didn't know my brother at all! I'll take you down-"

"Little Sasuke-kun is so adorable," Tobi giggled under his mask, "he thinks he can take down Kisame-senpai!"

Kisame seemed to brighten slightly at the compliment his partner was paying him. Over the past few hours since he had agreed to stop attempting murder, Tobi had been _very _flattering. It was all 'Kisame-senpai is so strong!' and 'Kisame-senpai is so experienced!' and 'Kisame-senpai's skin reminds Tobi of Konan-chan's hair!' He didn't know why, exactly, but it was a nice change from the insults. And he had no clue why Konan-sama hadn't swiftly castrated him for calling her 'Konan-chan'.

"Tobi is right," he told them, "all your chakra combined would be merely a drop compared to my reserves. You have no chance against me. Hand him over and we can avoid the fuss. We're not going to kill him, anyway."

"Then I shall fight without using chakra!" Gai told him, "My Eternal Rival would trust me to keep his Youthful students safe."

"We won't let you take him," Sakura told him clearly.

"Don't give up, Sasuke-kun," Sai gave him another bland smile, which Sasuke saw from the corner of his eye, "helping precious people is what friends are for, if I understand properly."

"Finally," Sakura muttered, "he uses the _right _book."

Sasuke tried to calm his anger. Two Akatsuki members or no, he had strong shinobi to support him. He himself was ready to take his position as one of Konoha's strongest jonin.

"Fine," Kisame swung the sword off his shoulder, "no one said I couldn't have a little fun before I took the Uchiha." He pointed the giant sword at the four Konoha nin, "Tobi, sit back and watch."

"No," Tobi said suddenly, in a voice quiet enough for only his partner to hear. Kisame jumped a little and turned to see him, because he had spoken an octave lower than his usual cheery tone, "distract the others, _I'll _take care of Itachi's brother."

"What? You think you can handle him?" The blue man demanded, raising an eyebrow, "your Ultimate Escape techniques won't be of much use in offense, you know, and I think an Uchiha would know more katon jutsu than you would."

"Those are your orders," Tobi informed him. He turned back to the Konoha nin and closed his one eye.

When he opened it, a strange pattern in black and red swirled into his iris.

**ooooo**

**I don't think I've mentioned this, but check my profile for story updates if I don't post a chapter in a while. I'm probably just dying a slow and painful death while my extended essay repeatedly stabs me with its analytical skills while mocking me for not sacrificing my A. Be back up in no time. Miracle of the Great God Wikipedia, seriously. I refuse to panic up until the day where He no longer carries my answers in His divine articles.**


	38. Omake - If This Story Was

**Omake 3: If This Story Was…**

_In which INK makes fun of popular Naruto pairings through hypothetical situations within the universe of The Resilience of Time while MKani is off doing things with her life. _

…**SasuSaku**

"Sakura…explain to me why we're doing this again," Uchiha Sasuke ordered, absentmindedly twirling his dango stick.

From across the small table in the dango shop, a tired looking Haruno Sakura was looking down at her untouched plate, "because your stupid Anko-sensei decided that you needed experience before she eventually got her hands on you, and Kashi-sensei agreed with her because he was too lazy to train us."

"And that," Sasuke deadpanned, "is why I'm currently on a date with you? Excuse me for confirming, the last few hours have been a blur." He was dressed in his typical Uchiha clothing, the ones he wore to training. Knowing that he probably wouldn't bother, Sakura had come in her red cheongsam like usual. She was thanking her lucky stars that she hadn't decided to wear anything nice.

"Indeed," Sakura nodded grimly, "and after this is over, you will have to tell Anko-sensei how you successfully wooed me," she punctuated the line by pulling a dango off her stick.

"That shouldn't be hard," he commented, "you've had some sort of 'crush' on me since you were six. I recall this time where you tried to kiss me while I fell asleep at the end of my watch during a mission."

Sakura reddened, "don't remember things like that!" She threw the empty stick at him, and he easily caught it between two fingers. Suddenly, her eyes lit up, "wait, why don't we _pretend_ to bein a relationship? This way Anko-sensei will leave you alone and I can brag to Ino!"

"I thought that girl didn't like me anymore after I mentioned that yellow was a stupid hair color in front of her teammates?"

"Yes, well seeing the way you act around Naruto, it's clear that you don't really mean that," she deadpanned.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at her, "fine," he stated, "but only on one condition."

Sakura raised her eyebrow, "a condition? I know better than to accept without hearing it."

"You have to track down Kakashi-sensei and make up a tale to him on how I 'wooed' you in full – preferably graphic – detail. That will teach him not to be lazy in training us again…"

…**SasuNaru:**

"Sasuke…why exactly did everyone else leave?" Naruto questioned. He looked around Kakashi's empty apartment, which had just been occupied by the two of them, Sakura, and Gai's team. A few minutes ago, they had all suddenly left, claiming different excuses. Even Kakashi had gone, saying that he needed to 'walk his cat'. He didn't have a cat, and this was _his _apartment. Plus, he had turned off the lights as he went out.

"Are you _really _that stupid?" Sasuke asked incredulously, "how are you able to walk around unassisted?" His form was difficult to make out in the faint light streaming in from the windows, but Naruto could see his amused expression.

"I don't get it!" Naruto whined, sitting back down on the couch, "why has everyone been acting so weird? Sakura-chan's cheeks go pink around me but she doesn't accept when I ask her out, Kashi-sensei's always coughing into his book, and Bushy-Brow sensei keeps telling me to 'pursue the urges of my Youth'! And Neji won't talk to me!" he crossed his arms in frustration.

"Well you see…" Sasuke sat beside the slightly shorter boy, "they act like that because I _told _them something…"

"Eh? What'd you tell them, teme?" Naruto squinted at him, "did you say I had a contagious disease?" His face scrunched up on concentration.

"No," suddenly the Uchiha boy's face was a little too close for comfort, "I told them that we were…together," he practically purred.

Naruto leaned as far back as he could go, eyes widening as his teammate came closer, "ah! Teme what you do mean?! Get away, you're too close! _Too _close!" He could practically see the threads of his irises, even in the dimmed light.

"_I _remember saying that…" Sasuke said softly, his face inches from the blond boy's, "but I think this is the _perfect _distance."

"Ah! Get off me!" Naruto pushed his shoulders away, "Kakashi-sensei! Sakura-chan! Help! The teme has gone mad!" He leapt off the couch and ran towards the window, narrowing avoiding Sasuke's grasp at his arm.

The Uchiha boy watched in amusement as he fumbled to open the window of the apartment and leapt out, yelling as he fell from the second floor.

"Nice work, brat. You learn fast."

The lights came back on, and he turned back to see Anko standing in the doorway, arms crossed. From where she had been watching through the peephole, Sakura grinned.

"I didn't think you had it in you, Sasuke," Kakashi commented, peering out from inside his room, "but that was well-played. You really are quite the infiltration specialist."

Sasuke gave them a sadistic smile, "ch, I've just played a prank on the self-proclaimed greatest prankster alive. This merits bragging rights."

…**NaruSaku:**

"Naruto?"

"Yes, Sakura-chyan~? Do you want more barbeque? It's all my treat tonight, since this is out very first date!"

"After giving it hours of thought, I've decided that I don't care _how _many avid fans out there desperately want to see the idiot hero who saved Konoha during the chunin exams and displayed power of epic proportions succeed in wooing the girl who's been telling him off for the past ten years of his life. There are some things that you and your Sage Mode just cannot do. This is one of them."

…**NaruHina:**

"Ah! Hinata-chan! You came just in time, I'm finished with my warm-up. You see, I was going to go find you because Neji mentioned that you really improved in Jyuuken and I wanted to try sparring against you. But I'm all wet because Sakura-chan pushed me into the pond…wait right there, I'll just remove my shirt and wring it out. Hinata-chan? Are you ok? Oi, Hinata, you're bleeding!"

…**HinaNaru:**

"N-Naruto-kun," a familiar girl with purple hair stepped out from behind the corner of the Konoha hospital.

"Hinata-chan!" Naruto turned to see her, and gave her a wide grin.

"N-Naruto-kun, I was w-wondering if m-maybe we c-could s-spar like you s-said before?" She asked hesitantly, strands of dark hair falling into her face. Her index fingers tapped together, betraying her nervousness.

"Sorry," Naruto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, "I have to wait for Sakura-chan. She's doing her shift at the hospital, but she said that once she was done we could go out for ramen. Maybe next time?" He turned back to watching the window of the room where Sakura was working.

"N-No."

Naruto looked up curiously. Hinata was still standing there. The fingers that had been tapping were now pressed together, shaking a little.

"Eh?" He asked, tilting his head in confusion.

"N-No!" Hinata said louder, "y-yesterday I asked Neji nii-san how to do something that you were scared of d-doing, and he told me to s-stop thinking and just d-do it!" Her voice was practically at a yell.

"Oi Hinata…" Naruto scratched his head. What was she going on about now?

Without a seconds pause, Hyuga Hinata ran up the blond boy and grabbed his shoulders, pulling him forward to look into his eyes. Naruto looked back, slightly shocked. Was she going to?...

Seemingly losing the slightest hint of resolve, she instead opened her mouth to talk, "N-Naruto-kun, w-we are g-going to the s-sushi bar t-today!"

"Eh? But I like ramen…" Naruto complained. If she was hungry she could have just said it, "sushi is so expensive!"

"W-well I'll p-pay!" She told him, trying to sound stern. Her hands suddenly felt very cold and clammy on his shoulders.

"Well alright, but can we wait until Sakura-chan comes too?" He grinned, "and maybe we can get the teme while we're at it. And that bug-boy on your team is nearby, right?"

"N-no!" She yelled, squeezing his shoulders, "it's g-going to be j-just us!"

"…Hina-"

"Y-You d-don't get a s-say in t-this!"

…**KakaYama:**

"Senpai, I don't think I can do this anymore," Former Operative Tenzou slowly pulled away, his hands on his senpai's shoulders. In front of his face, his masked superior raised an eyebrow. His index finger was hooked over the edge of his mask, about to pull it down.

"You've never had any problems with us before," Kakashi commented, leaning up on his elbows. This was surprising. He usually had the younger man frozen in anticipation during the moments before he removed his mask. If his kohai were any good at poetry, he would have eagerly written ballads on how beautiful his superior was. After all, he was the only person Kakashi had ever allowed to see his face, and even then, he had only been granted the privilege _weeks _after they had started their relationship.

It was rather surprising that he was actually able to _talk_ at this point, much less _stop._

They were sprawled together on the couch of his apartment. Yamato had his Nidaime-style hitai-ite off, and his brown hair fell into his face. He was a remarkably plain-looking young man, but Kakashi was able to look underneath the underneath. Literally. His kohai was a strong, loyal, and kind person, and that was relatively hard to find.

"Yes but…I have a duty to fulfill," the words seemed to be painful to say, and Kakashi could only imagine why as his finger pulled down a little more of his mask. Yamato virtuously looked away, "I carry the only mokuton genes in the shinobi world, and I need to pass them on. You're not exactly going to help me, and I need to accept that."

Saying that, he slowly slid off the couch and grabbed his hitai-ite from the table, slipping it on. Kakashi peered curiously at his back, "if you don't want to carry my tent on the next mission, I can always make Naruto do it," he suggested lightly. It wasn't like his kohai was _actually _going to leave. He probably wanted some slack on minion duty.

"It's not because of that…I'll still be your minion if you want me to. You're my senpai, after all," Yamato explained, "but I think I really should see someone else. Preferably of the other gender," he rubbed the back of his head, looking slightly embarrassed and sheepish, before turning to leave.

Kakashi watched him walk out of his apartment with a strange look under his masked face.

"Was I just…rejected?"

**ooooo**

**Although I'm not a fan of shonen-ai couples in Naruto, I couldn't resist that one, if only for the last line ;)**

**On that note, this was my first ever attempt writing anything that even resembles romance, and it turned out more humorous anyway :P I just had the urge to write this because I was going through some 'favourites'-sorted one-shots of all genres, and I saw a lot of pretty strange pairings. I mean, TemarixKakuzu? Have those two ever even heard of each other?**

**Hope you liked this o****make :) This was my peace offering because I can't make any promises for the next chapter's upload date :P Review, please! I'm trying to get to 750 before the next chapter ^^!**


	39. In Attendance: The Six Paths of Pein

**Chapter 38 – In Attendance: the Six Paths of Pein & The Two Beasts**

_Kurama! We're going to do this in bijuu mode!_

_Won't your sage mode give you better sensing abilities? And aren't you going to summon your toads? _The Demon Fox inquired sharply.

Naruto inwardly grinned, _this time, I have Yamato-senpai fighting with me, so I can conserve my energy. We need to finish this quickly in case Madara shows up. _

Kurama raised an eyebrow at his plan. _You all really do work that poor human hard…_

As chakra began to coat his form, Naruto emitted a low growl. He had done this before. He knew the strengths and weaknesses of every Path, and he was aware that the troublesome Deva Path would wait before using his power because it sent the other Paths flying along with the opponent. The last battle with Pein had taken him almost five hours, but he didn't have that sort of time now. Bijuu mode was at least twice as powerful as sage mode in terms of raw chakra, so he could finish this more quickly.

In front of him, the Pein beside Deva stepped forward. Long orange hair was pulled up in a tie at the back of his head, and an Ame hitai-ite covered his forehead. Naruto had never fought this Pein before, but he had seen it on the dissection table in the Hokage's tower. This was the Path Ero-Sennin had taken down before he died – the one that summoned animals – that had been replaced by the small girl with the hair sticks.

Just as predicted, the Animal Path slammed his palms into the ground.

"Kuchiose!"

He watched as a familiar Drill-Beaked bird rose out of the ground, cawing loudly through a beak shot with black chakra receivers. Naruto was standing alone in front of the bird, orange chakra flaring up around him. Shizune, Kakashi, and Yamato were nowhere in sight from where they had shot off earlier after listening to Naruto explain the plan.

"Come and face me yourself, Deva Pein!" Naruto challenged, pointing one finger directly at the orange-haired figure even as the bird rushed towards him. Before the creature could get any closer, giant wooden bars began to rise up from the ground. The wood curled around it, trapping its wings to its body. Its caws were lost as it was completely caught in a mokuton barrier.

Animal Pein slowly turned his head to look over his shoulder, where a brown-haired figure was kneeling down on one of the pipes above with his fingers clenched in a hand seal.

"Yamato-senpai!" Naruto exclaimed, "I'll leave him to you!" He grinned across at the mokuton user.

"Understood." Yamato leapt down from the pipes to face the Pein with the long orange ponytail. He wiped his damp hair away from his forehead and without taking his eyes off his opponent, reached into his bag and withdrew a soldier pill.

"So you are able to use the Shodai's bloodline," Pein commented. His concentric eyes watched Yamato crunch down on the pill. He slammed his palms together and reached down again, orange hair falling over his shoulder, "we will see how long you last! Kuchiose!"

"Go, Yamato-senpai!" Naruto instructed, "remember their sight!"

The animals were troublesome since they split instead of dying, but Yamato was the perfect opponent for them. His wooden barriers that trapped instead of sliced would hold them down and blind them. Having him there would also distract one pair of the linked eyes, cutting through range of the doujutsu.

Yamato put his fingers into his mokuton seals once again, and this time the wood rushed into the Animal Path, hitting him back just as another Drill-Beaked bird appeared. More strands of wood appeared and chased after the animal. The Pein leapt back to escape the wood, and Yamato ran after him, determined to isolate him from the eyesight of the others.

The five other Paths looked on, but didn't do anything to follow him. The Animal Path was the one who was usually sent out to fight alone, he could take care of his Konoha jonin. They had the Kyuubi's Jinchuuriki and Hatake Kakashi to fight.

Naruto watched him go with a grin. It would probably take a lot out of him, but Yamato would take care of that Pein. He turned forward to see five more left. Deva Pein's eyes followed the two until they disappeared into the pipes, and then turned back to Naruto.

"We will capture you, and then take down Hatake Kakashi," he stated simply.

"I won't let you!" Naruto told him, putting his hands into the Clone seal.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

The advantage that bijuu mode had over sage mode was that he could make ten clones instead of just three. Yugito had instructed him not to split Kyuubi's chakra across more than that, but ten was more than enough.

The nine other Naruto stood on either side of him, with their hands all held out. Slowly, ten balls of blue chakra spun in them. In front of them, the Paths of Pein quickly rushed into formation.

At the very head was Asura Pein, bald and grinning unnervingly. The flaps of skin on either side of his face blended into his neck, and black spikes stuck out from his kill. To his left was the Human Path, the lean figure that could extract a person's mind. To his right was the Preta Path with chakra rods sticking out from his lip. This was the one who could absorb ninjutsu. Slightly behind him was Deva Pein, with an empty spot beside him where the Animal Path would usually be. Meters behind, the Naraka Path was crouching down, prepared to summon the King of Hell.

Seeing the barrage of rasengan in the Naruto clones' hands, Asura Pein's cloak ripped through as mechanized arms began to emerge from his back. The bald Path grinned back at him with his usual strange smile.

"You must be foolish if you think those chakra spheres that Jiraiya-sensei used will help you in any way," Deva Pein spoke up from behind his three Paths.

"Yeah? Well we'll see!" Naruto retorted. As Kyuubi's chakra flooded into the rasengan, orange streaks began to materialize within the attacks. At once, the ten Narutos began to rush forward.

"Oodama rasengan!" The spheres grew larger as he rushed forward, soon growing to almost half his size. Among his clones, the real Naruto gritted his teeth and hoped that his plan would work.

The three Pein in the front prepared for his attack, with the Asura Path's mechanized arms rushing forwards to crush the clones. The Preta Path merely held one hand forward, focused on the three clones that rushed towards him. Pein took a moment to wonder why he would be attacked with a chakra technique after Naruto had admitted that he knew of his absorption abilities, but the boy had displayed enough stupidity to make the action ambiguous.

As the rasengan whirled towards him, the Preta Pein's vision was filled with blue chakra, the attack beginning to grow smaller the moment his hands made contact with it.

Human Pein leapt upwards at the last minute, pushing off the ground with powerful momentum. He watched as the clone that was headed for him stumbled slightly when his rasengan met with empty space, and put one hand out, prepared to extract its mind as he came down. His sight was filled with the whirling blue sphere as his hands made contact with the top of the clone's head.

Deva Pein merely kept his eyes open, allowing the three Paths in front of him to attack. He did nothing until his concentric eyes spotted six barely-visible senbon needles heading towards the Pein the Narutos were attacking. His eyes flicked up to where a black sleeve was retreating into the end of a pipe. So that was where the kunoichi had gone. There was only one hidden one left.

As the information his sight had spotted was transferred, the Asura Path quickly dodged. One of his mechanized arms grabbed the Human Path beside him and pulled him forwards, out of the way of the senbon. As he moved, the other Pein's hand lost contact with the Naruto clone before he could extract its mind. On his other side, the Preta Path quickly abandoned its position absorbing the rasengan to move backwards, watching as the senbon struck the ground in front of him.

From where he had been thrown back by Asura's metal arms, Naruto grinned. The plan had worked.

"Chidori!"

As the sound of chirping birds filled the air, four of the Paths paused and turned around, desperately trying to catch the attack with their vision before it landed. They turned in time to see the ration attack flash down on the Pein crouching at the very back.

Even if they had seen it, it was too fast to stop. The assassination jutsu was incredibly fast, tearing through the air. Deva Pein watched with the slightest surprise as Hatake Kakashi's Chidori came down on their Naraka Path, cleanly slicing it down. The masked Konoha nin stood over the body and straightened as the chirping sound died down.

"Sensei! Go!" Naruto yelled. That was all the help he needed, but now his sensei needed to retreat before he was forced to use any more chakra. The Naraka Path was the one who had the ability to summon the being that could resurrect the others, and it was one of the more troublesome ones. Now that it was gone, he could take the other ones down.

"Right," Kakashi nodded, turning around-

"Shinra Tensei!"

He had not been expecting the attack so immediately. Deva Pein had moved in front of him, away from the other Paths. As the shockwave blast out from his hand, Kakashi was thrown back, and slammed into the pipes behind him. He slowly slid down the metal, his body limp but Sharingan eye still open. It wasn't a strong blow, but he didn't have much stamina. It had taken him by surprise.

"Nagato!" Naruto yelled, "your opponent is me!" He rushed forwards, a little blindly, and Kyuubi's chakra whirled around him.

The Human Path appeared suddenly in front of him, and Naruto reached out to slash at him with his chakra arm, gritting his teeth as he dodged evenly. He had forgotten that he couldn't use the Frog Kumite in bijuu mode, and the visual link was still powerful even with only four of them. He leapt back slightly and put his fingers in the clone seal again.

From the corner of his eye, he saw Shizune emerged from the other ends of the pipes, heading to where Kakashi was picking himself up. He would have to leave his sensei to the iryounin and hope that they both got out of the way. They were supposed to find Yamato, and help him take down the Animal Path. Kakashi had once lost to Deva Pein, but Animal Pein would not last long against him.

"Kage Bunshin!"

The nine other clones appeared again. This time, they each began clawing at each other's hands, creating long, pulsing orange plates. In sage mode, his limit had been two of them, but now he had a ridiculous amount of chakra.

"Futon: Rasenshuriken!"

Deva Pein turned to look at Kakashi, who had gotten back to his feet, and then turned back to Naruto. "It seems that you are able to use Kyuubi's chakra," he commented, "no matter. Pein has faced Version Two Jinchuuriki before."

Naruto simply growled, and forced himself to think. Going after Yahiko's body from the very beginning was not wise, since he was the most troublesome one. His eyes scanned the others. Asura…Preta…Human…his eyes centered on the Pein who had long orange hair than ran down his back.

With a plan in mind, he reached to his side and grabbed one of the clones, quickly dispelling it into a cloud of chakra. The cloud temporarily blocked the view, but all the Paths started into action as one of the rasenshuriken came flying towards them.

Their formation was slightly skewed as Naraka Pein was taken down, but they were able to re-group. Now the Preta Path stood in the very front, prepared to absorb any ninjutsu that was sent at him. Deva Pein stood at his side, and Asura at his other. The Human Path, strangely, had retreated to the back, standing slightly behind them. His plan was probably to take their opponent's mind once he fell to the other paths.

Seeing the rasenshuriken come for him, the Preta Path ran forward and put one hand out, holding his arm while the orange chakra spun into his palm. The sheer size of the rasenshuriken temporarily removed him from the visual link as his sight was filled with orange.

Directly behind it, another rasenshuriken was held in a clone's hand. The clone ran forward, as if to thrust it into Preta Path while he was distracted. But at the last minute, he veered right towards the Asura Path, and threw the attack.

The weaponized Pein easily dodged it, and struck out at one of the other clones emerging from behind. His metal arm tore into it, running it through as it dispelled. He quickly sought out the next clone and punched it away with his fourth arm. But the last Naruto clone ran up to him, and instead of slamming his rasenshuriken, he threw it at the Path's chest.

Deva Pein's eyes followed it all, and the sight was quickly relayed to the other two. The Preta Path, finished with absorbing the rasenshuriken, turned to pull the Pein on his right out of the way. But his arm did not travel fast enough to prevent the futon attack from ripping through half of the Asura's Path's body.

"Got you!" the clone yelled, even as the remaining metal arm tore through it and dispelled it.

Suddenly, the three Pein in the front paused. There were no Narutos around. The Asura Path was torn in half, and unable to walk. His one mechanized arm probably wouldn't be of much use. The Preta Path's vision finally cleared as the rasenshuriken faded away, and he looked around, trying to collect more visual information for the Rinnegan.

"Bijuudama!"

The Deva and Preta Paths turned quickly as a sudden chakra pressure came down behind them, and created a small explosion. The first thing they saw was the Human Path's unconscious body, with a triumphant Naruto standing on top, black and orange tails whipping wildly through the air. The remnants of a black chakra sphere were dissipating in his hands.

"Three down, two more to go!" Naruto yelled, grinning widely, "I suppose I'll have to save Naruto Therapy for when I see Nagato."

"Naruto Therapy?" Deva Pein inquired, one eyebrow raised.

"Yeah!" Naruto exclaimed, "cause I'm going to bring you back with me!" He punctuated the sentence by slamming one fist into his other palm.

"You are foolish, Kyuubi's Jinchuuriki," the Preta Path informed him.

"No I'm not," the blond boy replied, "because it's gonna happen for sure! You'll come back with me, Nagato, and then you can meet Ero-Sennin again and Tsunade baa-chan will find a way to fix your legs and you can help us keep Madara away!"

"You should give up," The Deva Path spoke again, "something like that is a hopeless goal. Pein will not bend to your will."

"Oh yeah? Well we'll see!" His fists were clenched at his sides as he stared directly into the concentric eyes of Pein. He _refused _to believe that Nagato was too far gone, like Itachi had said. This was _Nagato, _the one who had sacrificed his life to pay for his mistakes. This time he wouldn't need to sacrifice himself. They were brothers by circumstance, and he would force him to recognize that.

"I'll never give up." Naruto stated confidently, "I don't care if I have to face that teme Madara and all the Akatsuki to bring you back, because I will! I already told you that I'm gonna knock the sense into you, and I never go back on my word because that's my Ninja Way! I'll-"

"Shinra Tensei!" Deva Pein put one hand out. He didn't seem to care that the two Paths beside him were thrown away from the attack. The Asura Path was no longer of use, and the Preta Path would have to pick himself up later.

Not expecting him to begin his attack when the other Pein were around, Naruto was thrown back, and he crashed into the pipes behind, smashing through the metal. He lay there for a few seconds, catching his breath as the leftover water inside the large pipe soaked into his jumpsuit. He could hear his breath echo loudly within the metal walls.

_You were careless! _Kurama chastised, gripping the bars of his cage as he yelled at his jinchuuriki, _get up! There's only a five second limit, and this Pein will not hold back any longer now that most of the other Paths are gone!_

_Right, _Naruto groaned and sat up, wincing at the wet area on his back. The battle had already gone on for almost half an hour. Two Paths were completely destroyed, two were rendered useless, and one was with Yamato. But he could not let his guard down, because Deva Pein was far stronger than the others; strong enough to conserve his power for last. That was why he was looking on with the same confidence in his eyes, the same certainty that the Kyuubi's Jinchuuriki would be captured.

"Pein has never been pushed so far."

Naruto peered on through the large hold in the pipe he had made to see Deva Pein standing meters in front. He had one arm extended, and his palm was pointing directly at the Jinchuuriki.

"Banshou Ten'in!"

ooooo

"I can hear crashing sounds," Tsunade observed, "they must be fighting outside the tower." She looked worriedly at her teammate, who had been strangely silent for the past few minutes, "are you alright, Jiraiya?"

"We have to find Nagato quickly," the toad sannin frowned, "I think…it would be best if Kakashi didn't confront this…whoever it is."

Orochimaru tilted his head in confusion, but nodded, "given what you've told me about Nagato's condition, there's only two more places he could be," he explained, "both of them are very close to the medical laboratories, and also have secret exits in their general vicinity."

Tsunade raised an eyebrow, "how do you know all of this as a prisoner?"

"I wasn't always a prisoner of the Akatsuki," he said, "before the chunin exam invasion, I was allowed to stay here and continue my research." That explained it. The snake sannin was renowned for intelligence; he would never forget a place after seeing it.

"-Which you won't be doing again," Jiraiya felt the need to add, "take us there."

Orochimaru nodded and turned to continue down the grey corridors beneath the tower. He moved with less of the stumble than he had before, indicating that the leg muscles, which had previously been on the brink of atrophy, were healing themselves. He kept a quick pace as he handily navigated the halls, a map of the entire area already burnt into his mind.

He headed for a room that he had once found slightly suspicious. Not because it had been guarded, but because it was conspicuously _free_ of guards. While he had done his research in the tower, Pein-sama had given him free reign to _make use _of any prisoners he wanted, and he had emptied a quarter of the cells in that way. But there were rooms to which he was not given free entry, and most of these were heavily guarded day and night by Ame shinobi. One was not.

He led his two former teammates to the door, and paused in front. It looked the same as the other doors, but there was empty wall to either side of it, indicating that it was much larger than the others.

"Is this it?" Jiraiya asked, looking up.

"I think so," the snake sannin replied, "if not this, there is another, a little farther down. Both of these were the rooms I was not allowed to enter. If this Nagato is as you say, then he might be here."

Tsunade walked forwards and placed her hand over the doorknob. "It's locked," she commented, frowning.

"Well of course it is!" Orochimaru hissed, "did you expect that Pein-sama would just leave-"

Before he could finish the sentence, Tsunade had drawn back her fist. A brief glow of chakra coated her hand, and she slammed it forwards, causing the entire door to collapse along with a good section of the wall.

"Well…that's one way to do it," Jiraiya commented while Orochimaru coughed at the rubble in the air. He stepped up beside the slug sannin and waved his hand, clearing the dusty air.

As predicted, the room was much larger on the inside. It had the same grey walls and bleak appearance, except its contents were vastly different. Meters ahead of them, against the far wall, was a large black contraption. It held giant rods that struck out in every direction, and they all converged at a large seat in the center. Jiraiya's eye widened as he realized that they were all coming out of a man's back. An incredibly thin man, with ribcages that struggled out against his skin, and red hair that fell into his face. Both his eyes were closed, but there was no doubt who he was.

"Nagato!" He yelled, leaping over the broken door. Tsunade came up behind him, and put a hand on his shoulder. He was about to ask her why she was pulling him backwards, when a flurry of paper filled the room.

ooooo

When Tobi turned back, his eyes were shaded over again, greatly confusing the blue-skinned man. Meters in front, the Konoha nin were frozen in spot.

"Pein-sama ordered _you _to take the Uchiha brat?" Kisame asked incredulously, keeping his voice down so only his partner could hear, "did it rain sake in Ame that day?"

"No," Tobi replied, "these are Leader's orders."

At this, Kisame almost choked on air. _Leader _spoke to _Tobi_? Did he not wish to remain hidden? And why were the Uchiha brat and the pink-haired girl looking at his partner like they had seen a ghost?

"Kisame-senpai is so mean to his kohai!" Tobi suddenly erupted, slouching into his typical lazy position again, "and Tobi was trying to be extra nice."

"You're laying that act on rather thick," Kisame said suspiciously, "who are you?" He pointed the bandaged Samehada directly at his masked partner.

"Tobi is just Tobi-kun," he replied cheerfully, "and Tobi is a good boy."

Kisame contemplated it. If it truly _was _an order from _him, _then it would be foolish not to heed it. But what was Leader thinking, to send Tobi after someone like the Uchiha boy? He was certain that the boy was not nearly as strong as his brother, but still…that meant that Tobi was hiding something.

"Fine," he said slowly, "you can capture the Uchiha. But if you fail, _I will drag you to Leader myself._" He threatened. Along with Konan and Zetsu, Kisame was the only one who was personally recruited by the Leader himself instead of by Pein-sama. Even Itachi had not known about him until Zetsu gave the information away.

"Senpai can count on Tobi," he said, "Tobi will capture Itachi-chibi-kun. But first, Tobi will talk to him."

While the two Akatsuki members talked to each other in hushed tones, the members of Team Sakura were frozen in shock on the ground of the forests of Hi no Kuni. Sakura and Sasuke didn't take their eyes off the orange mask. They were only an hour away from Konoha; an hour away from a successfully completed mission. And then they had the luck to run into Uchiha Madara.

"This person…has the Mangekyou?" Sasuke whispered, feeling the dread crawl up inside him again, "but how? Could he be…"

"He probably is," Sakura said grimly, "only an Uchiha can deactivate a Sharingan eye at will, unlike Kashi-sensei."

"Uchiha Madara," Sasuke murmured to himself, feeling anger rise up within him as he remembered Kakashi's and Itachi's words. A feeling that had been unfamiliar to him for months had returned. It was the need for vengeance, and his mind was clouded with anger.

"I believe that _is _the Mangekyou," Gai told them quietly, eyes still on the blue-skinned man whom he had previously deemed a larger threat, "I have seen that exact doujutsu in Kakashi before."

At that, Sakura stilled. A strange notion began to form as she looked from Tobi – who was still talking to his Akatsuki partner – to Sasuke. How could that be?...

"Let me fight him," Sasuke narrowed his eyes, "this is the person who forced Itachi to make _that_ decision. I will avenge my brother."

"More vengeance? Is that psychologically healthy for you?" Sai wondered. He saw the doujutsu, but did not know what it was. He was still crouched down on the forest floor, paper spread out in front of him.

Sasuke didn't reply. The eye of the person who had called himself Tobi was still staring into his own, as if mocking him.

"Gai-sensei?" Sakura asked breathlessly, feeling strands of pink hair fall into her face as her forehead crinkled, "what did you just say?"

"I said that is indeed the Mangekyou," the man in green tights confirmed, "I have seen the same in Kakashi once, a few months ago. I pestered him to show it to me because I was curious as to how such a doujutsu would look when he confided that he had it."

"You saw _that _pattern?"

Gai nodded, slightly confused as to why she was asking. Sasuke frowned as he understood. Itachi's Mangekyou had looked very different from this person's, and his own barely resembled it.

"_Does yours kind of look like…flowers…too?"_

"_Not even slightly."_

If each Uchiha had a different pattern when they awakened their Mangekyou…then why did this Tobi have the same as Kakashi-sensei? A ridiculous notion sprung into his head and his eyes widened at the thought…but no, he couldn't _be _Kakashi-sensei. Sensei had a Sharingan in his left eye, while this person had revealed on in his right, and his other eye was still hidden behind the mask. He was also slightly taller, and his voice was much different.

And there was no way his sensei would ever join the Akatsuki.

"I do not understand," Sai spoke up from behind them, "do we plan to attack them while they are distracted and talking to each other, taicho? I believe Hoshigaki Kisame has a rather large bounty on his head. I have seen him in the anbu bingo book."

"No," Sakura whispered, "we won't move until they do. It seems that they want to talk to Sasuke first, so we'll stall," she turned back to look at him, "Sai, tell him 'Uchiha Madara'."

When she turned forward again, her voice was much louder, reaching the ears of the Akatsuki members standing a few meter in front, "Sai, run," she said, knowing that he would understand what he meant.

The pale boy nodded without asking questions, and within moments, his nimble brush had drawn a pattern of a large bird on the seal paper. He put his hands together in front of the drawing.

"Ninpou: Choujuu Giga!"

The bird emerged from the paper and he hastily threw a leg over its back and kicked off the ground, disappearing into the sky. Tobi and Kisame looked as if they considered going after him, but they decided that it would be too much of a bother when their true target was in front of them. They turned back to the Uchiha boy, and Sasuke glared back freely. He and Gai-sensei both knew where their teammate had gone.

"Gai-sensei," he glanced at the older jonin in front, "when they attack, leave the one with the Sharingan to us. Sakura and I have to speak with him."

Maito Gai paused, but nodded slowly. Although he had been fighting a Sharingan user since the age of eleven he had never faced the Mangekyou before, unlike the two younger jonin who had come face-to-face with Uchiha Itachi and successfully defeated him – as far as he knew. There was also the matter of the blue one claiming to have much more chakra…

"Alright," he conceded, "but if he overpowers you, I would like you both to run. I can hold them back. They shall see the true power of Konoha's Sublime Green Beast!" Lean muscles stood out from under his green tights as he clenched his fists in emphasis.

"Right," Sakura nodded, smiling slightly.

With that, Gai turned to the blue-skinned man, "you. Hosi…Shohi…Kime…"

"Hoshigaki Kisame!"

"Yes, you! I will be your opponent! Prepare to fight a most Youthful Battle!" Gai declared.

It would be best if they weren't too close to where Sakura and Sasuke were standing, since many of his more powerful attacks were long-range and had a large radius of impact. With that in mind, he stepped out from in front of the younger jonin and ran off to one side, watching as the blue-skinned man followed. It seems that while they had talked, they agreed that the masked Tobi would be the one to take Sasuke. That was fine, Gai has confidence in his Eternal Rival's students.

When they were a few minutes away, he stopped and turned to face the Akatsuki member with one arm held out, and his thick eyebrows narrowed.

Kisame's grin widened, showing off sharpened teeth, "fine, I have time for a good battle, Beast-san."

"No no," Gai protested, "that is simply my title. I think we both know who the real beast here is," he went on in utmost sincerity. Around them, the forest was silent, and even the small animals had gone into hiding. Killing intent was very distinct sometimes.

His opponent's forehead twitched, "I am not a shark!" He bellowed, swinging Samehada off his shoulder. Tobi had made him rather sensitive about that point recently. The sword sensed his anger, and shuffled inside its coverings.

"I never said you were," Gai replied virtuously. He tilted his head to one side, "I think you actually resemble a blowfish." His tone was thoughtful and he was only expressing an opinion, so he didn't understand why the killing intent in the area suddenly rose tenfold.

"I. Am. A. Human!" Hoshigaki Kisame yelled, "and you are the most thickheaded opponent I have ever faced!" He put his hands together and began to form seals.

"So you are a ninjutsu user," Gai observed, "that is fine. Prepare to be confronted by my taijutsu!" To emphasize, he struck the air in front of him, allowing the blue-skinned man to feel the resulting small wave of air. He barely noticed as he completed the hand seals.

"Suiton: Bakusui Shouha!"

Kisame put both his hands in front of his mouth and blew out gushing streams of water. Gai leapt back just as the water hit him, and quickly pushed a hand into the oncoming rush. He used the momentum to flip himself over onto the water, using a small amount of chakra to balance on top of the rapidly moving streams. Looking around, he noticed that the water had not stopped, and was slowly breaking down trees with its force.

He frowned when the small sea reached the spot where Sasuke and Sakura were standing with the masked Akatsuki member, almost a quarter kilometer away. The currents had less force at that range so the two younger jonin were able to easily balance themselves on top of the small lake, but they were now in clear view. Any long-range jutsu that he used had a chance of reaching them.

But he could do nothing about it at this point. At least Sakura should have some idea of what to expect. She had seen his rush to get away, and had some knowledge of the taijutsu he used. He could leave the Uchiha boy to her.

"Worried for your little friends?" Kisame asked lightly, leaning on the handle of his sword.

"No," Gai replied truthfully, "I am not, because they are my Rival's Champions of Youth!" He turned back to the blue-skinned man, and looked from his grinning face to the sword that seemed to be…moving inside its bandages. He was no Kakashi, but even he could tell that it was no ordinary weapon. With that in mind, he rushed forwards at full speed, one fist raised.

The meters of space between them were covered before Kisame had the chance to blink, and his fist headed directly for the other man's face. Just as he was inches from making contact, he spotted the bandaged sword heading for his side, and the glint of a shark-like grin in front of him.

Abandoning the punch, he dove to the side and nearly avoided the swing. Kisame followed through with Samehada, noting that the sword's blue fins began to poke out of the cloth just as it came close to the Konoha nin's face. Unfortunately, Gai was too fast, and evaded the spikes, instead landing a few meters away.

He flipped himself upright and reached into the back of the hitai-ite around his waist, withdrawing two glistening nun chunks. He held the weapons out in front of him as Kisame came clone and swung down with his sword.

The weapon lodged in the nun-chucks as Gai kept it away from his face.

"A weapons user?" Kisame grinned, "I didn't peg you for one," he pressed Samehada down further, but was surprised to note that the man held the sword away easily, despite the weight and pressure.

"I rarely use anything more than the power of my body!" Gai told him, "these nun chunks are almost an extension of my arm muscles," he drew back, allowing the giant sword to slam into the water in front of him.

Almost immediately, his eyes widened as he felt a presence behind him. Gai didn't know how Kisame had traveled so quickly, but he wasn't going to waste time contemplating. He spun around with one leg raised, thigh muscles taunt as he aimed a kick directly towards the blue-skinned man's face, prepared to follow through with the nun chunks.

This time, the figure behind him had no time to move. Gai's leg dove into his abdomen, cleanly coming out through the other side…wet?

_Mizu Bunshin!_

He had no choice but to follow through with the kick, his own momentum was too strong. He drew his leg back as the clone collapsed, merging into the small lake they stood. The fabric of the tights around his legs were soaked, and they clung to his skin, revealing the small increase in thickness underneath his orange leg-warmers.

Suddenly, he felt a shake in the water below him.

"Suiton: Goshokuzame!"

His eyes caught the very end of Kisame's series of hand seals, and bent down, crouching over the water. Before the jutsu was finished, he jumped upwards, using chakra coated-feet to push off from the water. Looking below, he saw a large blue mouth of shark teeth snap close upon the air where he had just been crouching.

While he was in midair, he saw that his opponent was still looking down at the sharks that had emerged. He quickly put his nun chunks back in the red hitai-ite and made use of the situation to bring his knees up, allowing his hands to slip underneath his leg warmers. Unclipping them, he spun upside down and thrust his legs forward, allowing the loosened metal strips to head for his opponent's back.

Kisame watched with a grin as his five sharks emerged from the water, snapping and biting. The self-proclaimed Green Beast seemed to have leapt upwards to avoid them, but he had to come down some time or the other; he couldn't remain in the air forever. He was so focused on the spot where his opponent would land that he failed to see the metal plates.

Gai's leg weights slammed into the blue-skinned man's back from where he had thrown them. Usually, they would stay behind for missions, but he had assumed that this one would be almost as easy as his team's old D-ranks, given that there were three jonin and one former anbu. He noted with a smile that one of them seemed to have ripped through the cloak.

Even while midair, in battle against an S-rank missing-nin, he spared a moment to marvel at the fact that the blue skin really _did _go all the way down…fascinating. He made a mental note to tell Lee all about the strange person later on, when he made it back to Konoha.

He looked down and frowned. Now there was the problem of landing. The sharks were still snapping at the air, so it was dangerous to use his chakra to land on top of the water. However, his momentum gave him no other choice; he was heading straight down. He had to finish this fast, but he couldn't tire himself out.

"Hachimon Tonkou! First Gate: Kaimon. Kai!"

He had to finish this quickly. Sakura and Sasuke were strong shinobi, but they would have a hard time against someone who seemed to have the same ability as his Eternal Rival. It seemed that there was no other choice.

Instead of landing on top of the water, he flipped upside down and held his body straight, neatly entering the surface of the lake without a splash. It used the same position as the Omote Renge, and the extra power gave him twice as much momentum. He dove directly to the bottom, settling on the underwater ground of the forest. Around him, remnants of dead trees and leaves floated, temporarily shielding him from the view of the sharks.

"The water is my territory, Green Beast-san!" Kisame smirked as he watched the figure in green dive into it. All five of his sharks were down there, and the man would be ripped to pieces within seconds.

Meters underwater, Gai could not hear him. He stood at the bottom of the lake, legs braced against the ground.

"Second Gate: Kyuumon." He said it quietly, not alerting the water creatures searching for him above.

Gai felt the signature surge of blood throughout his body. Around him, the branches still floated, but they were slowly drifting away due to the aura he was beginning to emit. Soon, the sharks would find him.

"Third Gate: Seimon. Fouth Gate: Shoumon. Fifth Gate: Toumon. Kai!"

At this point, his body began to glow green. The branches were thrust away from him as if by a wave of shock. Five blue sharks suddenly noticed him, and rushed towards him with their jaws open.

"Sixth Gate: Keimon. Kai!"

Before they could get within arms length of him, they were all pushed away, flooded with green light. Hoshigaki Kisame watched with a hint of shock as his water sharks dissipated the moment they came in contact with the green aura. He was forced to leap away as the water underneath him parted with the same force.

From the edge of the distorted hold in the lake, Kisame peered down to see that his opponent now looked very different. Instead of the medium tan he had seen before, the Green Beast now had skin that was dark, reddish brown. Underneath his tights, his muscles seemed to have grown slightly harder. The tights themselves, which had previously been soaked from the water, were drying up from his body heat alone.

"Behold the Youthful Power of my Body!" Gai yelled up, "these manly, rippling muscles under the beauty of green tights will be the last things you see, Hogikashi Kimase-san!"

"_Hoshigaki Kisame,_" his opponent stressed, groaning. However, he realized that he had to step back from the pure power radiating from the man, "Interesting," he commented, the grin slowly reforming on his face, "I have not met anyone with the taijutsu levels that you seem to possess," he managed to dodge as Gai came flying upwards from the bottom of the lake, one fist held high.

"I will take you down with the Power of my Youth, Koshigaki Himase-san!" Gai declared, landing evenly on the surface of the water a few meters away.

"My name is HOSHIGAKI KISAME!" The shark-like man growled. He looked over the man's changed form. He was familiar with the Hachimon, but he had never faced anyone who had opened a Gate past the Shoumon, which granted enhanced speed and power. Despite this person's obvious stupidity, he was strong.

The sword that he held in one hand suddenly erupted from its bandages, revealing it's myriad of blue fins. The mouth on one end opened widely, growling in anticipation at the thought of absorbing more chakra.

Gai frowned at the sight, green aura still covering his form, "so you have brought a pet in the guise of a weapon!" He observed, one hand out in his signature stance.

Samehada gritted its teeth. Kisame decided that it was a fair reaction, "this is not my pet! This is my sword, which has been passed down through the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist: Samehada!"

"It is nice to meet you, Samehada-san," Gai greeted, not fully understanding what the growling sword…creature…_thing _was, "but I am afraid I must defeat your owner!"

Kisame resisted the strong urge to introduce his palm to his face, and stared forwards. He threw Samehada upwards, making hand seals as the large sword rose up.

"Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu!"

He finished the last seal and caught Samehada as it came down. In front of him, five water clones rose from the lake. As soon as his hands came around the handle, the clones rushed forwards.

Gai was fully prepared for them. The green aura flared around him, and he drew his fist back to deliver a direct punch to the first clone's cheek. It erupted into water at the contact, and he turned while bringing one leg up. The second clone burst into a small shower as the limb passed through it.

The Toumon granted him inhuman speed and power, allowing him to easily overpower the clones. He turned around without wasting a centimeter of movement, driving his fist through a third clone. As his hand passed through it, he glanced up and squinted into the distance at Sakura, Sasuke and the other Akatsuki member. It seemed that they were still talking, and had not begun trading blows. That was good, maybe he could finish off the shark-man and Samehada and go to their help early.

Just as he swung a knee into the fourth clone's abdomen, he noticed an arm come in clone behind him. He turned at the last moment to see the blue hands of the fifth clone forming seals behind him.

"Suirou no Jutsu!"

Suddenly there was water gushing around him, coming out of the clone's hand. He thought of aiming a punch at it, but knew that the thick water might lower its power. If he looked back to destroy it, Kisame would take the opening to charge at him from the front. _It can't be helped…_he put his fists out at either side of his waist, and began to furrow his thick brows in concentration, before lashing out with his fists.

"Asa Kujaku!"

The myriad of punches strengthened the aura around him, causing the clone behind to collapse into the water, and the jutsu to fall away. He leapt into the air, turning to aim at Kisame before punching rapidly.

The blue-skinned Akatsuki member saw streaks of fire coming towards him, and his eyes widened slightly. He was able to dodge the first two balls of fire, but there dozens of others, heading towards him and heating up the very air above the surface of the lake. So he planned to fight suiton with katon…

Instead of dodging the rest of the attack, he inserted one hand into his cloak.

A few meters ahead, Gai dropped back to the lake on one knee, fists burning from the remnants of the attack. The fiery strikes of the Asa Kujaku filled the vision, and Kisame was merely a hint of black cloak behind them. He watched in satisfaction as every ball of fire seemed to head directly towards his target. The signature attack of the Keimon was incredibly fast, after all. It was unlikely that this shark-man had been able to form seals in time.

Straightening, he turned around, squinting at the three figures in the distance. They still seemed to have not begun their battle, which was better than he could have expected. Grinning, he took a step forward on the lake, prepared to leap to their assistance with a special Dynamic Entry.

"Going somewhere?"

He shot back around at the wavering voice behind him. A few meters away, still standing where he had been before Gai's attack, was Hoshigaki Kisame. His curiously large weapon was balanced on the surface of the water, and he stood with one hand on its hilt. But that wasn't why Konoha's Noble Beast stilled.

"You're very strong, Gai-san," Kisame smirked, "I must say that I would very much like to fight you longer. But you see, I have to look after my idiot partner in the mask over there when this is over, so I cannot waste too much chakra to fight you."

Gai felt the beginnings of muscle weariness from opening the gates, but he had not closed them yet. He slowly put one arm in front, prepared to face this new opponent with the full extent of his Youth. It didn't matter that he was able to withstand the Asa Kujaku; Konoha's Green Beast did not back down from a fight which involved protecting his teammates.

Kisame's grin was wide, revealing his serrated teeth, "and that is why I will use a…_present _that was given to me by one of our dear former members," he stated, "just for a little bit of help. You should be glad, I'm acknowledging you as worthy of facing both myself and him."

In front of him was a strange looking man. Strange, in that he was almost as wide as he was tall, and yet he didn't seem to have an ounce of fat on his body. It seemed that he had taken the full force of the Asa Kujaku head-on, and yet his form was slowly piecing itself back together, patch by muscled patch. When the person finished recovering, he made a formidable figure. His hair was the color of straw, contrasting sharply with the dark tone of his skin. On one side of his chest was a large, lighting shaped scar.

"Who is this person?" Gai asked sharply, arm held out in a ready stance. His eyebrows were furrowed as he regarded his two opponents, one grinning and the other completely impassive.

"Well," Kisame began, "back when he was alive, I believe he was the Raikage."

ooooo

"And how are the jackfruit trade lines with Yugakure going?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen sighed at the woman sitting in front of him. She was poised as regally as ever on the other side of his desk, both arms folded on the table. Her grey hair was spun up on top of her head in a long pin, and she wore a keen look on her aged face. Utatane Koharu had once been a stunning kunoichi, and she had aged gracefully, still keeping her high cheekbones and stately looks. The problem was that she hadn't softened one inch. In fact, she had grown ever keener, a vast difference from the soft-spoken and polite young lady that Hiruzen had once known.

The change was good for the village. But it wasn't good on him.

"Koharu…is that really important right now?" He asked, raising an eyebrow, "I have to admit that I have never even laid eyes on a jackfruit, and I only agreed to the trade so that we would have some connection to them beyond knowing that they exist."

"Well our citizens love it," she stressed, "and it's an expensive good. If you like, I'll have some brought to you. Then maybe you can appreciate the value of foreign trade." She spoke in her typical, deep voice and her eyes were as sharp as always, "I heard there was a problem of entire armies of bandits along the route?"

"They're going fine," he sighed, "I sent Asuma and Kurenai-san with a large team of chunin to help clear them. They'll hold off the bandits and your jackfruit will be safe." He leaned his chin on his steepled fingers.

Koharu frowned, "is there something wrong, Hiruzen?" She was a perceptive one. Quick and a little too cunning for his liking, but there was a reason she and Homura were on the council. Of course, Homura spoke with Danzo too often to enjoy meeting with him, and so she was given the responsibility of attending the weekly meetings with the Hokage.

"I'm thinking of retiring," he replied truthfully, "I've been in his position for far too long."

"Hmm, no plans to die in battle like your predecessors?"

"Why does everyone say that?" He asked dryly, "I've retired once, I can retire again. There's nothing wrong with spending one's old age in a nice little house, preferably next to the Academy so I can see my village's youth now and then."

"Such noble aspirations," she commented tonelessly, "so? Who do you plan to choose as your successor?" Her voice was a little too eager for his liking. He was glad that it was her instead of Homura, who would have suggested Danzo immediately.

He gave the question some thought; "I would like it if one of my students would succeed me…"

"Well I'm sure that Orochimaru would be more than willing," she added dryly.

He smiled slightly at that, "yes, he's made that clear. But Jiraiya and Tsunade are very capable. Unfortunately, neither of them seems to be interested…"

"It is a mystery to me why we have this problem every time we must choose a Hokage," she agreed, "especially when there have been so many young ones who aspire to this position. And yet Tobirama-sensei was forced to take his brother's place, you were given the hat in a situation of dire emergency, and Minato had no contestants, even though he was reluctant to shoulder the responsibility right after his marriage."

"Well, I doubt anyone would have wanted to challenge the Yellow Flash becoming Hokage," he muttered, "but it is fine. A year age I spoke to Hatake Kakashi about the issue. He says he is willing if there are no other candidates."

"Sakumo's boy?" Koharu's forehead lined as she thought about it. It was an unfortunate truth that everyone over the age of fifty still saw the masked jonin as his father's son, "yes, he would be fine. He is undisciplined, but strong and skilled. Leave him to me and I will get him in into shape."

Hiruzen smiled. There was no doubt about that; he felt a twinge of pity for the Copy-nin.

"And he is your student's student's student, so it _is _somewhat keeping it within the lines," she added, "a good choice, although I would have expected you to groom your own son for the position."

"No," the Sandaime shook his head, "Asuma is too much of a free spirit, he would never agree to succeeding me. There's also the fact that he's grown up seeing all the paperwork I do."

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Hiruzen raised an arm, signaling for the anbu to allow the person through. His meeting would not be disturbed unless it was an emergency.

The door opened to reveal a pale boy with a forehead lined with sweat from travelling at full speed for over an hour. Short black hair was damp against his head, and he was panting heavily. A masked anbu Raccoon was holding him up, but he gently pushed himself out of his hold, walking towards the Hokage's desk tiredly. The Sandaime frowned; Sai had been on a mission with Team Sakura, he was sure of it. Why was he here without his teammates?

Utatane Koharu, on the other hand, did not know about his mission and therefore had time to wonder about other things. She was eyeing him up and down incredulously, noting that he was clothed only in a set of fitted green tights that covered him from neck to ankle. It was eerily similar to what Hatake Kakashi's strange jonin friend was always in.

"Former Operative Fourteen!" she exclaimed, "what exactly are you _wearing_?!"

**ooooo**

**Remember that the scenes are all happening at the same time. They entered Ame early morning at around 5, and now it's noon, and everything so far happened at once. Kisame and Tobi approached Team Sakura around six hours after the 'juunin' entered Ame :P**


	40. Lucky Seven Fuu & Sensei's Friend

**Chapter 39 – Lucky Seven Fuu & Sensei's Friend**

"One hundred fifty kilometers. North forty-five degrees East," Sai reported, "two missing nin from the Akatsuki. Message from Sakura-taicho: 'Uchiha Madara'." He was still a little breathless, and so did not answer Koharu's question. The message was more important.

"Team Sakura has been attacked?" Koharu asked asked. Sai nodded quickly in response, and the council member turned back to the Sandaime.

The Sandaime stilled, but he forced himself to stay calm, "Akatsuki? Who were they? Names?"

"One was Hoshigaki Kisame, S-rank missing-nin of Kiri. The other called himself Tobi. Name and rank not recognized," Sai told him, "Gai-sensei will probably deal with Hoshigaki Kisame, but Sakura-taicho has requested backup for dealing with Tobi. He possesses something that they called the-"

"Enough," Hiruzen interrupted sharply. After hearing Sakura's message, he could guess what that meant. It would be best if Koharu did not, "we will send backup."

Council member Utatane Koharu frowned, "what is this Sakura trying to say with that message?" She asked sharply, "Uchiha Madara?" She turned to give Hiruzen a questioning look.

"It's…a codeword that Sakura and I agreed on," he lied absently, "it seems that they have run into some trouble. His explanation was clearly lacking, and Koharu was still watching him sharply.

"I don't have time to explain," he told her wearily, "this meeting is finished. With you, Operative Fourteen, Name 'Sai', and Operative Firefly present," he nodded towards the concealed anbu member, who quickly came out of the shadows, "I name Hatake Kakashi as my successor, to be placed in the position of Godaime Hokage of Konoha if neither of my students are willing." In case anything happened, he had to make sure that Homura did not automatically push Danzo into the position. That man was a shrewd council member, but he was not a fitting Hokage.

"I might be out of the village for a few hours, Koharu," he continued, turning to his former teammate.

She smiled wryly, "I suppose this time, you aren't going for the purpose of visiting your uncle's civilian son?" Her hands were folded neatly in her lap, but when he looked closely, he could see that her fingers were slightly tensed. She knew that something was happening, and she knew that he wasn't going to tell anyone.

"No," he told her seriously, "but I leave you in charge until the Hokage re-enters."

"'The Hokage'? Do you plan to die in battle after all?" She asked. Her voice was dry, but he smiled when he realized that there was a bare hint of actual concern in his old teammate's eyes, even if it was shrouded over by sharp curiosity. It was refreshing to realize that not all of his council was secretly planning his downfall.

"Please leave, Koharu," he sighed, "if I am not back within six hours, call a council meeting."

Sensing the gravity in the voice, Utatane Koharu nodded and stood up, "whatever this is, I hope you know what you are doing, Hiruzen."

After she left, he turned to Firefly, his eyes hardening at the thought of his decision. The anbu was standing before him, hands clasped and awaiting orders.

Sarutobi Hiruzen knew Uchiha Madara well. He had never spoken a word to the man and had been only six when the Shodai had driven him away, but simply having lived within his era taught him that he could not be taken down. The legends said that he could only be defeated by one of pure Senju blood, and even Tsunade was only partly from that great clan. Sasuke had the same eyes as him, but the younger Uchiha boy did not have reserves to properly use them.

Uchiha Itachi had said that Kakashi would be able to defeat him, but Hiruzen doubted it. Hatake Kakashi was frighteningly strong, but Madara was on a completely different level, beyond what normal shinobi could reach. There was only _that._ Hiruzen was one of the only shinobi alive who had the skill to use it, and it seemed that it was time.

"Firefly," he called, seeing the anbu shunshin to stand in front of his desk, "gather my personal anbu squad and tell them to come immediately to the location that Sai has specified. And…tell Asuma that although it's troublesome, I suppose I'll have to approve of Kurenai-san."

Firefly gave him a bemused look beneath her mask, but nodded and disappeared. An anbu didn't ask questions, after all.

"Sai," he turned to the pale boy, "can you continue?"

Sai straightened. He had been exhausted moments earlier, but flight was not chakra-draining, only energy draining. A soldier pill would patch him up.

"Good," the Sandaime nodded in approval, "will you be able to fly at full speed for a few hours using your jutsu?"

"Yes, Sandaime-sama." He nodded sharply.

"Then I'll be coming with you," the Hokage decided, standing up from his desk, "I suppose I'll be seeing Uchiha Madara once more."

ooooo

Within the village of Amegakure, the Demon Fox growled.

_Not yet, Kurama, _Naruto warned, _I still need to talk to him. _

_Then don't get killed, brat!_

He winced as the bloody mess near his stomach began to heal with Kyuubi's chakra. The Bansho Ten'in had drawn him close to Pein too quickly, before he could do anything. He had taken a blow through his middle with one of Deva Pein's chakra receiver rods. But he was an Uzumaki, and something like this wouldn't be enough to stop him.

He pushed himself up onto his elbows, chakra-coated hands slipping on the metal pipes he had been thrown into. A few meters away stood Deva Pein, one hand still held out with the chakra receiver, dripping with blood. He slowly lowered his arm and walked forward. Five seconds left.

_Get up, brat! We don't have time for you to lie around! _Kurama chastised, gripping the bars of his cage.

_I know, there's only three seconds left. _

Naruto used his elbows to maneuver into a crouch. From there, he stood, feeling his injury slowly begin to heal. On his feet, he summoned more chakra into one hand, quickly forming another rasenshuriken. Two seconds…

"Futon: Rasenshuriken!"

As he hurled the spinning blue disk, he managed to make it just in time. Pein was forced to leap out of the way to dodge as the rasenshuriken whipped past his cheek. He landed a few meters away, standing on top of another pipe. He was now out of range.

Naruto raised an arm to clutch the top of the pipe and pulled himself up, so that he was at the same level as his opponent. His injury was still aching, but he managed to ignore it.

"Nagato!" He yelled, "you know, there's something Konan-san told me after you died." He walked forward, orange chakra whirling around him.

"Your tale becomes more and more elaborate," Deva Pein told him, raising his arms. Performing another at this distance would take a few more seconds, but if the boy came any closer…

Naruto stopped, "she told me that she was going to be the bridge that held you both up; you and Yahiko. She told me that you had helped her recognize her dreams," he yelled across the space between them. He wasn't a very good judge of character, but he had seen the way Nagato had looked at his Akatsuki partner. He treasured her as a precious person more than anyone else, and she had been his friend and comrade since he was young; the one who had saved him from the brink of desolation. If he would listen to anyone's words, it would be hers.

"Maybe Konan would say such a thing," Yahiko's body replied quietly, pausing for a second, " but something like that does not confirm your story in the least."

Many seconds had passed, and the limit was over. Deva Pein raised his arm once more, but Naruto felt a familiar twinge in his mind. He quickly leapt back off the pipe and ducked into the mass of similar pipes below. Once he was hidden, he delved into his seal dimension.

_Boy, _Kurama growled, _last time you fought him, you almost wrecked your physical body with my chakra. Your tenketsu would have burned if your father's presence had not allowed you to regain control in time. But remember, he is no longer there, and you cannot control the full extent of my chakra. _

Naruto froze for a second, _what? So even if you're helping me, I can't use Version One like I did last time?!_

The fox sighed, _you take this too lightly, _he growled, _it's probably because you've spent too much time around those other Jinchuuriki. Listen," _he pressed his face against the bars of the cage, looking intently at the boy who stood before him, _no one has ever been able to fully control my chakra by themselves. You have large reserves for a human, but they pale in comparison to mine. You will not be able to maintain a Version One form for more than ten minutes, so I thought to warn you beforehand. _

He tilted his head to one side, _but I can use my bijuu mode for long periods of time, so why not Version One? Are they really so far apart in power?_

_Yes, _Kurama stressed, _it was able to defeat the Rikudo's jutsu, even if that was only because I was in control. _

Naruto stilled, _I'm supposed to defeat Deva Pein with only ten minutes?! _He frowned. Maybe he was becoming a little too dependent on Kurama's power…_I'll see if I can take him down with only bijuu mode, first. _

He reached up to grasp Tsunade baa-chan's necklace with one hand, and promised himself that it would not break this time. He'd have to find another way to defeat Pein. The limited time of the Version One could be spent only if Nagato used that troublesome Rikudou jutsu of his.

"Hiding?"

The voice came from directly behind him, and Naruto leapt out from behind the pipes. Deva Pein had was leveling his arm in front of him, "Banshou Ten'in!"

This time, he was ready. Naruto felt the familiar sucking motion that pulled him towards Pein's hand, but he brought up his hands in front of him, and quickly began to pour chakra into them. Blue strands whirled in his hand.

"Futon: Rasenshuriken!"

He held the blazing blue disk out towards Pein, prepared to slam it into Yahiko's face once the Banshou Ten'in pulled him in close enough. Deva Pein's eyes widened imperceptibly, and before Naruto realized what was happened, Pein had swerved to one side. From inside of his Akatsuki cloak sleeve, a long black rod peered out, sharper than a kunai.

Naruto turned his rasenshuriken to the side, trying to smash it into the black chakra-receiver. Just as the whirling blue chakra grazed the metal, the pulling sensation stopped. Before he realized it, he was being thrown backwards.

He smashed into another pipe and groaned. _Kakashi-sensei is right, _he informed the Demon Fox, _I'm not capable of winning a fight without breaking at least twenty bones._

_What a nice, round number, _Kurama responded dryly, _if you could lower it to ten, I'll honestly be satisfied. He's coming. _

_I know. I'll try the old-fashioned way, _he wiped some stray specks of dirt from near his mouth. Around him, the orange cloak of the Kyuubi's chakra began to fade

Naruto looked up to see that Deva Pein was lowering his arm, recovering from his back-to-back use of both Shinra Tensei and Banshou Ten'in so closely. This time, he probably had a good seven seconds. He pushed himself off the wet ground, using the pipes to haul himself up. Then he brought his fingers into the clone seal.

"Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

With a great cloud of chakra, hundreds of orange-clad figures began to appear around him. Each one was rushing forward within second of being created, raising fisted hands towards Yahiko's body.

Deva Pein looked across at the sea of clones and raised one, chakra-receiver-studded eyebrow.

"Let's see what you do against my army of clones!" Naruto yelled. Normally, he would be at the very front of his army, but spending so much time with Kakashi _had _taught him something. He waited until he could rush forward in the middle of the group, perfectly concealed within the sea of orange. _Five seconds…_

The first three clones reached Deva Pein, and he struck them through with the chakra receiver rod, using it as a katana. The clones dispelled as they were sliced, but dozens more rushed forwards in their place. Soon, his vision was clouded over with orange clothing and yellow hair, and he had to jump back a few meters to escape them. _One second. _

The clones rushed again, trying to land at least one punch before the time limit was over. The one at the very head reached out with his arm, almost brushing Deva Pein's chest…

"Shinra Tensei!"

All at once, the hundreds of clones were thrown back into each other, dispelling in loud burst of chakra. In the middle of it all, Naruto ran forwards, not caring that he was bursting even more clones with the rasengan in his hand. The blast radius of the Shinra Tensei had been around ten meters. Ten was his usual space, which meant the five-second limit now held. _Four seconds. _

The blue ball of chakra whirred in his hand, and he grasped his wrist with the other as he ran, keeping the rasengan low, near his waist. Amid the smoke, he caught sight of a hint of pale, concentric eyes.

_Now!_

Deva Pein's eyes widened more as he heard the patter of footsteps. The real Naruto was coming at him with surprising speed. He wasn't able to move back in time, and the Kyuubi's Jinchuuriki slammed the spinning ball of chakra into his stomach.

_Get back! _Kurama warned, seeing the attack make contact, _one second!_

_I know! _Naruto informed him. He took one leap back and landed roughly, crouching down with the tips of his feet things touching the damp ground. _Now!_

Orange chakra began to coat his form once again, and he focused them into his hands, creating two whirling blue disks. Deva Pein was still recovering from the rasengan, which was the only jutsu he could do without sage mode or bijuu mode. But it had done its purpose, and the orange haired Pein was holding one hand over the spot in his stomach where the rasengan had hit. It had ripped right through his cloak and his clones, but the skin was only reddened.

"Rasenshuriken!" This time, he threw the first disk high, aimed for Pein's face. It flew across the distance between them, easily cutting through the air. As it went halfway towards them, he flung the other one lower, towards his waist. The Deva Path was now able to deflect the first rasenshuriken with the renewed Shinra Tensei, but if he did that, the second one would hit him. The chakra disks were too quick to easily dodge, and he would be obliterated if he blocked them.

Naruto grinned. Pein's only choice was to use a Shinra Tensei of a wider range, which would give him more limiting time before the next one.

What he didn't expect was for another form to rush in front of the Deva Path and hold a hand out. The blue chakra of the rasenshuriken slowly disappeared into the second figure's hand.

_Dammit! _Naruto mentally stomped his foot, _I completely forgot that the Preta Path was still there!_

Preta Pein stood in front, where he had shielded Deva Pein from the attack. His eyes were focused on the spinning disk, and it blocked his line of sight.

_He recovered from the Shinra Tensei now, _Kurama commented, _but that was not a total waste. _

Indeed, the second rasenshuriken was still whirling towards him. The Preta Path was too preoccupied with observing the first one to notice, and he fell back as the lower rasenshuriken hit in directly below the stomach. He collapsed from the attack, leaving Deva Pein unharmed behind him. Now there was _really _only one Path left.

Naruto winced in sympathy for whoever had once owned that body, _what a way to go…_

_If you could stop feeling sorry for your opponents, the Deva Path is five seconds out from his limit! You're within range! _Kurama chastised, watching the battle intently. Knowing what he was about to do, the Fox immediately drew back his chakra, leaving Naruto without the orange coat of tails. With it, ten clones was his maximum. Without it…

"Shinra Tensei!"

"Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

Just as the powerful push came from Pein's hand once again, a few hundred clones popped into existence in front of him. They were dispelled in droves as the ones in the front were pushed back. From the very back, Naruto winced as he felt the pressure of dozens of orange-clad bodied fall on him, but he stumbled back to brace himself against the surface of the pipes.

When the attack was over, he saw that Deva Pein was quickly approaching.

_Ten seconds. _

He rushed forwards, feeling the orange chakra coat him once more as he went. He and Kurama were getting more skilled as slipping in and out of bijuu mode at will. There were ten seconds until Pein could use his jutsu again. Until then, he would show him what Konoha's Number One Unpredictable Ninja was made of.

Naruto launched off with one heel coated in chakra, noting the rush of his own incredible speed as he appeared directly in front of Pein in less than a second. He brought one fisted hand up and aimed a punch directly at his opponent's face, feeling the thrill of battle that only taijutsu could really draw up.

Pein blocked with the chakra rod that extended from his sleeve, crashing it up against the bottom of the boy's wrist to deflect the punch. Even as his hand was pushed away, Naruto brought one knee up, aiming a kick at Deva Pein's side. His knee made solid contact with the man's hipbone, but Pein didn't miss a second before slashing down with his chakra receiver.

Leaning back to avoid the sharp metal, Naruto frowned. That kick had hit, why…

_You fool! _Kurama growled, _have you forgotten that it's a dead body? It can't feel pain!_

_Well, that's ironic-_

_Focus on the battle!_

Naruto winced again. He wanted to defend himself to his bijuu and tell him that it had _been a while, _but the Deva Path was directly in front of him once again.

Three seconds.

He didn't want to relinquish the position this early by retreating out of the Shinra Tensei's range. Getting this much time this close to him had cost five hundred clones and two rasenshuriken, and he was going to reap the benefits. With a loud growl, Naruto reached down to grab the hand that held onto the chakra-receiver rod. It cut into the skin between his fingers, but he held it in place as he delivered an orange-chakra-coated punch directly to Deva Pein's face.

As he let go of the rod, Yahiko's body went flying back to crash into the pipes behind, leaving Naruto smirking with satisfaction. He smashed one fist into his other palm as Deva Pein slowly pushed himself up a few meters away.

"Convinced yet, Nagato? I'm sure you've noticed that I know the strengths and weaknesses of your jutsu. I've fought you before!" Naruto yelled, leaping back as Pein stood up. He landed on the top of the pipes behind him, carefully outside of the jutsu's range.

"So this is the power of the Kyuubi," Pein commented. Despite the red area in his middle where the rasengan had hit and the scuffmarks on his face left by Naruto's fist, his expression was carefully impassive. He stood upright without any hint of pain.

"You've barely _seen _the power of the Kyuubi!" Naruto growled, "I know that what I told you is a little hard to believe, but it's true! I've given you more than enough evidence." He clenched his hands and looked into Pein's concentric eyes, giving him his very best glare.

"But even the Kyuubi must submit to the power of the Six Paths," Deva Pein went on, not acknowledging the look. His words were deep and delivered in an unwavering voice, but he was beginning to look worse for wear. One sleeve of his cloak had been torn off when the rasengan had sent him flying, and he had slipped out of the other, allowing the material to pool near his waist.

Underneath, his muscled chest was covered in dirt marks from being thrown back by the punch, although the puppet-like body had no sweat. Years of training and hard work had turned the Ame orphans from skinny, underfed children to true shinobi, and Jiraiya had recounted many stories of them to him with pride.

"You _are _strong, Nagato!" Naruto tried again, slamming his foot down onto the pipe and creating a metallic echo, "and you can use that strength to make Ero-Sennin's vision come true! You're my brother student, after all, and we owe it to our sensei," he leapt down from the pipe, landing soundlessly on the ground. He was out of the range so far, but only just.

He reached into the inside of his orange jacket and brought out a small brown book. Its pages were wrinkled and half the cover was torn off from the fight it had just been through, but the title was still clear on the front.

Pein's eyes widened slightly when he saw the title of the book, "so you come here to sway me with Jiraiya-sensei's words," he commented.

"You've seen it? Good," Naruto narrowed his eyes, "this book contains our sensei's life told in the form of a story. He wrote in the credits that the main character was based off a student he taught. Do you know who he meant?" He waved the book in the air.

"So Jiraiya-sensei's book is about you? How fascinating," Pein said emotionlessly. He raised his hand, prepared to walk forwards and attack again.

"No!" Naruto exclaimed, "this book is about you! You're the one he was inspired by, Nagato!" He was running out of ideas. At this rate, this would take even longer than it did last time.

At this, Deva Pein paused, if only for a second. But he soon continued to raise his arm, and brought his other arm up to hold it as chakra pooled into his palm. He ignored Naruto's indignant glare as he focused on the tiny black sphere resting in his hands.

"My job is to capture you, Uzumaki Naruto, not to listen to you," he said impassively, "someone like you who has never felt true pain is not worthy of consideration," he continued to focus on his palm.

Naruto felt his anger flare up, and the whisker marks stood out sharply on his cheeks, "I'll never give up on you, Nagato! Believe it!"

"Chibaku Tensei."

ooooo

They three Sannin watched as the pieces of paper, all as sharp as blades, covered the room in a flurry of slashing sound.

"Calm down," Jiraiya murmured to his teammate, who had pulled him out of the way, "it's just a kami bunshin. The fact that she's sent it means that she's not here."

Tsunade turned to watch the center of the room, as the swirling sheets collapsed into the form of one person. Each sheet settled in its selected spot, and the color slowly began to reveal itself, creating a figure of a woman. She wore a long Akatsuki cloak that covered her body from the neck down, and the high collar revealed nothing but her face.

Konan froze when she saw that the disturbance had been caused by their former teacher. Her eyes swept over the traditional clothing he wore in place of his jonin outfit, and the strange hitai-ite that marked him his associated with Mount Myoboku. The marks on his face had grown longer and he now carried large scrolls on his back, but he was still the person who had once helped her and her friends survive the war-torn land. The person that now stood in Nagato's way.

"Konan-chan!" Jiraiya greeted, stepping back into the room once the swirling paper was gone, "you've become just as beautiful as I expected!"

Tsunade followed, and Orochimaru slowly entered the room behind her, holding Kusanagi in front of him. The members of the Akatsuki were not very familiar with Konan-sama. They had seen her wavering figure on a stone finger beside Pein-sama, and Deidara and Hidan in particular had been utterly confused by her gender at first, given that they had never heard of a female Akatsuki member, and that she had a rather low voice.

She had never said a word to any of them. All they knew was that she was Pein-sama's partner, and that the two regal figures that stood at the head of Amegakure effortlessly struck fear in their hearts.

But Jiraiya had given him enough hints to allow him to piece together the story, and he slowly began to recognize the skinny, desolate girl that he had once thought to kill. He remembered her slightly dirty face framed by washed-out blue hair that was nowhere near the vibrantly deep color it was now. He remembered her scratched hands holding out that crinkled paper-flower to his teammate.

He remembered that he had offered to kill her.

"Jiraiya-sensei," Konan said carefully. Her eyes snapped to Tsunade and Orochimaru behind him, "you have brought your teammates, though one of them will not be of use," despite her careful tone, it was clear that she was worried.

Her real form was still near the gates of Ame where she had summoned the Edo Tensei to deal with the intruders, and she was flying as fast as she could towards the tower once her paper seals had indicated the disturbance near Nagato's room. A mere clone had no chance of holding up against two of the Sannin, especially since Jiraiya-sensei was the worst possibly opponent for her.

"We're not here to kill either of you," Tsunade spoke up, "even though you have become Akatsuki members. We only want Nagato."

Konan frowned in worry as she glanced back at her partner. Nagato had closed his eyes, it seemed that Pein was still fighting. He could not afford to lose concentration now by speaking, especially since his Paths were up against the Kyuubi's Jinchuuriki. If he opened his eyes now, the Paths would be distracted.

"It's a long story," Jiraiya told her, "and we cannot explain it all right now. We won't allow Nagato to continue bringing pain to the world, but we do not plan to kill him."

"I cannot let you take him," Konan said in a low voice. Even if she couldn't prevent them from taking his body out of the tower, she would find a way to stop them once they exited. Even if she had to put her pride away and resort to asking Zetsu for a _present, _she would protect Nagato.

She cursed Nagato's decision of sending her out to deal with the intruders at the gates while his Paths went for Hatake Kakashi and the Kyuubi, leaving only mid-level jonin that patrolled the corridors to protect his real body. He had been overconfident in his ability to know where everyone in the village stood. She was travelling as fast as she could, but it wasn't possible to get here on time without wasting too much chakra and making the effort pointless.

Kisame and Leader were miles away near Konoha. Zetsu was supposed to return after informing Leader of the Uchiha boy's position, but she didn't know how long it would take for him to get back. She would only have to hope that she could find them and retrieve Nagato once they were outside.

Making her decision, she thought to use the clone while she could, at least to stall them a few seconds. Slowly, the paper that it was formed from dislodged from the clone's body, spreading out in sheets of white.

"Shikigami no Mai!"

The flurry of paper rushed out towards him, and Jiraiya recognized the attempt to stall. He put his fingers together over his mouth, and took a deep breath. He drew out more chakra than he would usually use, if only to make sure that he defeated the kami bunshin in one blow.

"Gamayudan!"

He opened his mouth and blew out waves of brown toad oil towards the rushing paper. Within minutes, all the sheets were covered in the heavy liquid. Konan gritted her teeth, torn between watching her former sensei and keeping an eye on Nagato. If she used the concealed paper bombs, the resulting explosion would harm Nagato…she could not do anything while his vulnerable form was nearby.

With that in mind, she gave Jiraiya and Tsunade one last glare before disappearing, allowing the paper to vanish in small clouds of chakra. She had to get there on time. She had to save Nagato.

Tsunade watched her disappear with a frown, "she's going to come after us when we're outside, isn't she?"

"She probably will," her teammate commented, "she was always a protective one." He looked forwards at the far side of the room, where the giant metal device was still holding the rail-like man with his eyes closed, "we should retrieve Nagato while we can."

ooooo

As small shreds swirled around to slowly reform Fuu's leg, Gaara panted heavily, sweat running down sand armor. Beside him, B drew back Gyuki's tentacles from where they had been using them as a shield behind the sand. He was not as tired, but his moves were just beginning to get a little slower. In his hand, he clutched the seal that he had just failed to slam onto her in time. It was shredded up, but that was all right because they had many more from Jiraiya.

If she had been alive, they could have taken her down together already. But her Bug Bites made it very hard to get close enough to seal her, and she was too slippery for Gaara's sand pyramids. The fact that she was dead and could regenerate herself made her almost twice as difficult to beat. He only hoped that Yugito and Utakata were doing better.

Fuu leapt backwards, and awkwardly put her hands in front, mimicking B's enka stance. She frowned as if in deep concentration and began to speak in a half-singsong, "you almost got me good…didn't think ya' could. Kono yaro…baka yaro." She'd managed to somehow struggle out of one arm of the cloak during the fight, and made quite the comical sight with the material hanging around her.

Gaara was more concerned about the giant chakra beetle wings that rose from her back. The seven tails of yellow chakra behind them were quite distressing as well.

B grinned showing sparkling white teeth, "well I'm Killer B, nobody messes with me," he had his hands loosely in front of him, swords temporarily ignored.

At that, Fuu beamed happily and clapped her hands in delight before putting them back into her 'enka stance', "an' I'm Fuu of Taki, so don't get cocky!"

"I like your style, along with your smile, yeah!"

Fuu looked ecstatic, "this is so cool, and I _thought_ you guys were fools, kono yaro, baka yaro," she chirped. In her high, happy-go-lucky voice, it sounded like one hell of a compliment. Her leg was now completely reformed, and Gaara noted that with a frown. It seemed that the greater the injury, the faster the Edo Tensei regenerated. He tried to think of ways to sneak up and lay the seal on her without necessarily exhausting themselves with large-scale attacks…

Unfortunately, B was occupied with other things. His octopus tentacles swished around him and he began tapping his feet against the wet ground, creating a beat.

"Hachibi, that's me, the legendary Killer B. I take everything to the third degree!"

"And Choumei's in me, cause I'm the coolest Jinchuuriki!"

_Is this some rule of nature? _Gaara wondered, _that so many strong shinobi feel the need to act like complete idiots? Have I missed out on something?_

B went on tapping, and soon Fuu joined him with one heel drumming against the wall of a building nearby. It seemed that she had used up much of the Edo Tensei's attack urge with the last one. She warned them every time she was forced to strike, and it was better to retaliate then, because otherwise the Edo Tensei forced her to defend herself and attack early.

"Attack with Gyuki, that's what I did. When this fight is over you'll be glad we met, kid!"

"You're not so bad, so I won't be sad. Bein' taken down fighting is so exciting! But watch out, cause Edo Tensei's calling, yeah!" The chakra flared around her once again, and Gaara drew his sand up and prepared for another Bug Bite.

"Well there's no winning against me, the one and only Killer B. So step aside and prepare to be petrified!"

A nerve in Gaara's forehead twitched.

ooooo

"Tell us why you have the same eye as Kakashi-sensei!" Uchiha Sasuke yelled.

It was past midday, but the sky above them was covered in thick grey clouds, barely allowing the sun to peek through. Sakura stood beside him. She had been strangely quiet since the masked man had revealed his eye, and seemed to be thinking deeply about something. Gai-sensei had just led the blue-skinned Akatsuki member away, leaving them with the other one. The one with the Mangekyou Sharingan.

The Akatsuki member walked closer. Sasuke stiffened, but he stopped a few meters away. He tilted his masked head to one side.

"Uchiha Sasuke," he began in a different, deeper voice, "you are not all I expected you to be."

"You haven't answered my question!" Sasuke gritted his teeth. All he had to do was stall until reinforcements arrived, but at this moment he wanted to fight.

Suddenly, they heard the rushing sound of surging. Sakura grabbed his elbow and pulled him up just as clear water began to fill the area. He quickly coated his feet with chakra to stand on top, and looked where Sakura was turned. A distance away, Gai and the blue-skinned man were both standing on top of the giant lake that had been created in the forest. The trees, now under their feet, were making the water murky.

"You'll have to excuse my partner," the two Konoha jonin turned sharply at the masked man's voice. He had followed them up on top of the body of water, "he can be rather…flashy," the eye turned back to Sasuke, red and black once again, "Sasuke, I thought you would be stronger. Instead, you are merely a shadow of what Itachi once was."

"You never _knew_ my brother," the Uchiha boy growled. His fists clenched at his sides. If this was the Madara that Kakashi had told him of, then why did he have the same Sharingan?...

"No, but I knew his power very well," Tobi replied, "He had the abilities of a true Uchiha. You merely hold a key in your hand, unable to even find its door, let alone unlock it. It is wasted on you."

Sasuke's shoulders were shaking with anger. He wanted revenge more than anything, more than he had ever wanted revenge on his brother. But Sakura's calm voice was in his head, informing him that it would be foolish to attack before he did, and that it would be wise to wait for reinforcements. It was the only thing holding him back.

"You haven't answered my question," he hissed, looking out from under his black hair.

But the masked man barely listened, "you have the potential to do so much more, and yet you hold yourself back. Why is that?"

"_You haven't answered my question,_" Sasuke said once again, narrowing his eyes. He tried to put his anger aside, but it wasn't possible. This person…he was trying to promise him power by telling him how weak he was. But it wouldn't work, because he became stronger in his _own _way_. _

"Sasuke," Sakura said a whisper, "I think-"

"Why would you want to know?" Tobi interrupted, walking closer to stop only three meters in front of them, "what does it matter that I have an eye that looks like Kakashi's?"

"Because he's my sensei," Sasuke responded quietly, "and if I find out that you've done something to him…"

"Sasuke you're not thinking straight," Sakura warned quietly. He was always like this when his mind was clouded over with anger. She was just as angry, but she forced herself to keep it in check. The last thing they needed was to be reckless when faced with an S-rank missing-nin. She pushed a strand of pink hair behind her ear and turned to observe their opponent.

"Did you think I took his eye?" Tobi asked, his low voice betraying a hint of amusement, "not so. In fact, it's the farthest thing," his eye turned to stare directly at Sakura, "you should know, Haruno Sakura."

She stilled. He knew what she was thinking, she was sure of it. He knew of her theory, and he had just confirmed it.

"What is it?" Sasuke turned to look at her, frowning in frustration. Why was she staying quiet? Sakura was usually the second loudest of their team, and only because the dobe was rather hard to beat in that area.

Sakura looked down at her feet, knowing better than to keep looking into the masked man's Mangekyou Sharingan, "Tobi…could you be?..." She seemed intensely concentrated in her sandals and black combat shorts.

"Your teammate figured it out," the Akatsuki member turned back to Sasuke, "can you?"

Sasuke stilled, and forced his anger to settle down. What was he saying? Sakura figured something out? Well she was rather sharp; she was always figuring things out!

At that, he forced himself to pause, and remembered the question that she had asked Gai-sensei. Remembered the story of Nohara Rin that they had dragged out of their sensei. He looked up again and narrowed his eyes at the orange mask.

"So you're telling us that you are Kakashi-sensei's supposedly dead teammate?" He asked sharply. Sasuke wasn't afraid to look into this person's eyes. He was an Uchiha with two Mangekyou Sharingan. Even if he didn't exactly know how to use it, it should count for something against someone like Kakashi who only had one.

"It makes sense," Sakura observed quietly, "it explains why he has the same Mangekyou. And 'Tobi' sounds conveniently similar to 'Obito', doesn't it?"

Sasuke looked forwards again and frowned. "If you were Kakashi-sensei's friend, then why are you wearing an Akatsuki cloak?" He asked again with a slightly strained voice.

Sakura's mind was already whirring, and she kept her eyes trained on Tobi's -Obito's – feet, prepared to defend if he made any sudden movements. There were various possibilities, but only two of them were worth considering. The first was that Kakashi had lied to them.

It was easy to believe. The Sharingan was powerful, it would have been easy to make use of a teammate while he was down, to conspire with his other teammate and take the Uchiha's eye after losing his own. It would explain many things. Kakashi at the memorial every day? Guilt. Obito standing in front of them today? Vengeance. It was easy to believe, but she couldn't.

She couldn't think of her sensei like that. He had been her mentor from the very beginning, guiding the childishness out of her just as he brought out the inner determination to become a great shinobi. If he hadn't seen through her and fixed her that day, she would have never become the kunoichi she was, strong enough to be recognized by the descendant of the Senju even thought she had no clan and no shinobi history.

Even now, to both her Sasuke, he was the one person who they had _never _seen lose a battle. He was a more adept Sharingan user than Sasuke and more intelligent and experienced in battle than Sakura. He was the person they greatly respected, and even the dobe listened better to his quiet words than to Sakura's fists and Sasuke glares.

That left the other possibility; that Obito had somehow been recovered from underneath the rock Kakashi claimed killed him. But as an iryounin, Sakura knew that something like that would take ages to cure, ages of constant healing and _years _of specialized liquid foods and careful movement twice a day to prevent atrophy and bedsores. She was certain that if he really was Uchiha Obito, he had done it.

But beside her, Sasuke was struggling to hold onto the same ideals. Unlike Sakura, he knew the cruel truth of life a little too well, and could not mimic the sort of utmost trust that she had in their sensei. Knowing that he needed a push in the right direction, Sakura took over, pausing her sight just below Obito's chin.

"Your injuries must have taken a long time to cure," she commented, "I suppose that someone would have found you under that rock that sensei mentioned," her voice was carefully straightforward.

Just as she had aimed, Obito was surprised that _this _was the conclusion she had so immediately jumped to, even if there was one so readily available. From years of experience reading the emotions under Kakashi's masked face, she could tell that this person was smirking.

"So Kakashi has gotten himself some rather loyal students," he commented, "a young, loyal kunoichi who has a talent for being perceptive, I suppose he has a replacement for _her._"

Sakura picked up on it immediately, "if sensei has even an inch of the acknowledgement for me that he had for Nohara Rin-san, I would be honored," she replied earnestly. He was complimenting Kakashi-sensei's other teammate. Maybe this was a misunderstanding. If it was, then they just needed to talk to this person, to ask him why on earth he was wearing that cloak…

At that moment, she felt the ground shake. She glanced over at the centre of the lake where Kisame and Gai-sensei were fighting, and realized that the water had parted in a giant vortex that leaked a green aura. The green figure of Gai-sensei leapt out from inside, and she immediately squinted to note the reddish tone of his skin. He had opened the Gates, which meant that the other Akatsuki member was probably ridiculously strong as well.

"Sasuke!" She warned, "Get down!" She grabbed his arm and pulled him into a crouch, covering her head with her arm. The shockwave from Gai-sensei's attack reached them just in time and they struggled to stay upright. She briefly moved her hand from her head to see that Obito had not moved. He was still standing upright, even as the wave of air passed through him.

When the aftershock was gone, she peered around to see what had happened. Beside her, both Sasuke and Obito were also turned to see if Kisame had been taken down. What she saw was not at all what she expected.

There was another person who had joined the battle, standing in front of the shark-like Akatsuki member. A dark-skinned, ridiculously muscled figure that seemed to have taken Gai's attack head-on. Sakura bit her lip in worry as she looked from Obito to the other two.

She knew the Eight Gates well. Her taijutsu was not very compatible with them, but as a taijutsu specialist she had knowledge of what they could do. And she knew from Kakashi-sensei that Gai-sensei could open every single gate. That this person seemed unharmed from one of his attacks was extremely troubling.

Even thought his true identity gave them both uncomfortable pangs as they thought of their sensei, Uchiha Obito was a much better opponent than Uchiha Madara. Even if he had gotten strong, he still had only one eye…

"Sakura, go provide backup," Sasuke told her softly, "you can leave him to me," his eyes turned back to Obito, who was watching quietly. Amusedly.

She knew that it was the best move in this situation. A shinobi didn't need years of strategic training to know that two strong enemies were worse than one, especially when they were all S-rank missing-nin. She was hesitant to leave Sasuke with him, but she didn't know if Gai-sensei was strong enough to take _two _S-rank opponents by himself. As a B-rank jonin, she could at least provide backup.

"You know who he is, right?" She asked, just to make sure, "he is Kakashi-sensei's friend."

"I know. If he's not Madara, then I don't need to take revenge. I'll talk to him for as long as possible, and if he attacks I'll only defend," Sasuke asserted, shooting her a confident look. "I'll wait until they arrive," he said softly, "I can take him, Sakura. You can always come back and when you and Gai-sensei are done."

She nodded, "alright." With one last grim look at Uchiha Obito, she turned and ran off towards where Konoha's Green Beast was faced with the Sandaime Raikage.

**ooooo**

**I thought I'd mention this in case you all forgot anything about the time seal explanation (it happened over thirty chapters ago, after all): if the user of the time seal dies within the repeat period, then he will _still _be put back into the world once the trigger has been destroyed. Just like the people who died (Yugito, Utakata) were brought back to life within the reset. Otherwise, it would be a little too risky to use, wouldn't it? ****  
**


	41. Chibaku Tensei

**Chapter 40 – Chibaku Tensei & The Guts to Never Give Up**

"Mokuton: Shichuurou no Jutsu!"

Yamato cringed as more chakra flooded into his hands, draining almost all of what was left of his reserves. Senpai was always late, he shouldn't have expected any better. But he was tiring quickly. All around them were solid wooden cages with Summoned creatures inside. It had been over five years since he had had to use this much chakra at one go, but at least Pein was beginning to tire.

In front of him, the Animal Path was putting his hands to the ground once again.

"Kuchiose!"

With a slap of his hands to the ground, Yamato pushed himself to draw out more chakra. The wood was slower this time, but even as it groaned and creaked, it rose up to slam around the three-headed dogs that Pein had summoned.

At this point, the Animal Path was growing slightly weary. The reason that the Animal Path could fight well on its own was that it could add the eyesight of the summoned creatures to the visual link of the Rinnegan. But this mokuton user was trapping them in small caves of wood, not allowing them to see past the insides of their bindings.

From where he was bent over on the ground, Yamato looked up, breathing heavily. His chakra was almost completely exhausted. This Pein…his power was unimaginable. If just one of his paths, even the second strongest, was able to do something like this, he didn't want to think about how Naruto was doing facing the five others. He felt his consciousness slipping, and realized that he had one more shot before his chakra was depleted. This time, he wouldn't wait for Pein to summon another animal.

"Mokuton!"

Wooden pillars rose from the ground, causing the body of the Animal Path to momentarily lose its balance. As he slipped, the pillars slammed around him, trapping him in place. They weren't as strong as the others, but they would hold him in place for a few seconds. Yamato blinked, trying to pour more chakra into the attack to make another pillar crush his head. But at that moment, he fell unconscious.

"Chidori!"

The Animal Path looked up just in time to see blue lightning above him, raining down with the sound of a thousand chirping birds. He tried to free himself from the wooden cage by moving, but he didn't make it in time. From above, Hatake Kakashi slammed the lightning into his head.

"Kakashi-san! You're not supposed to use that much chakra!" Shizune yelled, appearing behind him, "you've already hurt yourself! You're supposed to be our defense against Madara!"

The masked jonin looked back sheepishly, allowing the lightning to fade in his hand. "Mou…sorry. But my poor kohai was exhausting himself, and Pein would have broken free in a few more seconds. I took the chance when I saw it. He was always the one falling unconscious after battles."

Shizune sighed and looked over to where Yamato was collapsed on the ground, over a pile of broken metal from the pipes. She walked to him and laid a hand over his back. Green chakra flared in her palm as she used her Shousen to check for injuries.

"Chakra loss," she stated, looking up, "he will be out for a while. I healed all the small cuts he had so it won't take too long. Maybe a few hours."

"I see," Kakashi remarked, running a hand through his white hair, "poor Tenzou-kun, overworked as usual. Maybe I'll make it up to him by setting him up with someone once we get back to Konoha."

"Yes, I'm sure he'd like that," Shizune commented, "shouldn't we be going back to Naruto?"

"Right," the masked jonin walked over, "hmm, I wonder if he's heavy…" He sighed and resigned himself to carrying his kohai, who was probably heavier than he was.

"I'll carry him," she offered. He watched in amusement as she easily picked him up with one arm behind his back and his arm over her neck, "you need to keep your hands free in case we're attacked, and this way I can keep treating him."

"…He looks heavy," he told her as she walked towards him, "are you sure you can carry him? Naruto could be kilometers away at this point, we're at the edge of the irrigation systems."

"Kakashi-san, I have spent years of my life dragging Tsunade-sama out of questionable establishments, sometimes across half a village to get to our inn," she deadpanned, "one adult man is nothing compared to the weight of her chest."

ooooo

_Dammit! _Naruto clenched his teeth, _it's this troublesome jutsu again_. He watched the small black centre of gravity leave Deva Pein's hand and float up into the sky. Within seconds, the ground underneath him began to rumble.

_Calm down, _Kurama instructed, _I can feel your panic. You have faced this before. _

_Yeah, and I think Version One would really come in handy right now! _Naruto's mental voice was frenzied, _Nagato isn't going to listen to me! Maybe spending all that time around Madara changed him a little. I'll have to leave the rest to Ero-Sennin._

His eyes scanned the vicinity. The area that they stood on was a large expanse of partly destroyed land, with pieces of metal littered everywhere from the pipes that had been shattered by Pein's jutsu and his own rasenshuriken. The pane of bent metal that he stood on began to shudder, feeling the first effects of Chibaku Tensei's gravitational pull, and Naruto quickly stepped off and watched worriedly as it rose into the air. Underneath him, more of the rocks and metal began to fly upwards.

_Leave it to me, _Kurama stood up within his cage, _you're going to undergo a Version One transformation. Do not try to resist._

Naruto gulped and nodded, feeling the familiar feeling of separation from his body as the Kyuubi's chakra took over. The orange chakra coating around him began to shimmer and change until it was lined with red and black. His form began to grow larger, turning darker as it went.

Version One was something that Yugito could pull out at a second's notice. _B _could pull out a _Version Two _at a second's notice. But Naruto was different; he hadn't been training with his bijuu for that long. It had only been around six years, and that was an incredibly short amount of time to learn something as powerful as this, especially since his tajuu kage bunshin-training method was not suited to it. So this was the first time his new, post-reset body, was fully exposed to Kyuubi's transformation.

Pein observed carefully as large, red and black tails emerged from him, "so you are going to show me the true power of the Kyuubi," he commented, "but the Rikudo's jutsu can overpower a bijuu. This was the jutsu once used to create the moon itself."

"I know!" Naruto growled, even as more of his body turned insubstantial, morphing into Kyuubi's Version One, "we've gotten out of this once, we can do it again!" The piece of land he stood on began to quiver, but this time the land around it was rising as well. The area began to creak and groan, emitting low rumbles that echoed on for kilometers. He looked around to see that the rocks, wet dirt, and metal were all shaking and being pulled upwards.

"Oh? You came to challenge me in my own land, and you think you can escape my jutsu?" Pein raised one chakra-receiver studded eyebrow, "how foolish, Uzumaki Naruto." His fingers were clasped tightly together in their seal, and he stood firmly on the ground even as it shook, knowing that the land he was standing on would not be harmed. The black centre of gravity continued to absorb chakra from him, attracting more of the rocks around.

"Nagato! Even if you don't listen to me, there will be others! I _know _that you'll see sense again and help me fulfill our sensei's dream!" Naruto tried again. With that, the ground below him began to break apart with earth-stretching groans.

High above, the first slivers of rock and metal had begun to attach themselves to the small black chakra sphere. Slowly, it started to grow, picking up more and more mass as it went. Naruto kept an eye on both it and the body of Pein standing below, trying to jump to the lower rocks to stay as far as possible from the growing centre. Slowly, the chakra-coated form of the Kyuubi solidified around him, eight of its tails visible and swirling around it.

As the last of his own form vanished as Kyuubi's chakra fully came in from the seal's dimension, Naruto frowned when he noted that his Version One form was slowly getting higher even as he tried to leap down.

_Kurama! How did you get out of this?! _He yelled at the fox, trying to keep his anxiety down. It was hard, seeing that the rocks were slowly closing in on his form. A giant piece of metal came crashing towards his left side, and one of Kyuubi's Version One tails swept it aside. But even if he was successful in diverting the projectiles, he was still slowly rising.

Kurama didn't answer, instead focused in concentration. The form of the Demon Fox looked down at Pein with angry eyes, and the echoes of his growl reverberated throughout the village of Ame. As a large rock crashed into the one he was standing on, his balance was momentarily thrown off from the pressure and he leapt off, only to land roughly on another. He rolled once before digging his claws into the rock and pushing himself upright.

_Calm down! _The Kyuubi instructed strictly, _nothing will come of your panicking!_

_It's hard to be calm when you're being pulled into a giant meteor!_

The Demon Fox didn't grace that with a response. All of the eight tails that surrounded their Version One began to rise up, centering above the fox's head as he raised it and opened his mouth towards them. Slowly, a black sphere began to grow at its tip.

"Bijuudama!"

Naruto watched breathlessly as the black chakra sphere left the area between his chakra tails and rushed down towards Deva Pein, whose hands were gripped together in concentration. But before it could reach him, it crashed into a giant piece of metal pipe and deflected off, instead charging into another rock.

Kurama growled again as the rocks began to close in on him with alarming speed. The earth and the metal almost merged into the grey clouds in the sky, making it difficult to see how much space there was left. But it was easy to feel when the material began to close further around him. Naruto realized with a twinge of fear that the centre of the chakra sphere was now as large as his Version One was, and one chakra-coated arm reached out to swipe at its closest outer surface, trying to push away before the rocks behind him pressed him against it. He gripped the edge of one sheet of collapsed metal between the rock and pushed, using all the chakra-enhanced strength he could manage to create more space between the rock he stood on and the one above him.

_We're trapped! _Naruto yelled to his bijuu. Looking around, he realized that the earth on either side of him had joined the large sphere, leaving only a small, enclosed space all around him, beyond which was meters thick of rock and metal. No light filtered in through the tightly packed area, but he could feel that he was the land below him was made of rock, and the material he was pushing against was metal.

_Well, _Kurama began, _I'm afraid that there was something I did not take into account…_

_What? _Naruto snapped.

_He's using the metal of the irrigation pipes to strengthen the earth that's being pulled into the centre, _the Fox observed grimly, _the metal is stronger and more malleable than the brittle rock, and that's making the sphere hard to break through. There's also the fact that he isn't as tired as he was before, when he battled Kakashi first. He's adding much more chakra into the Chibaku Tensei, which is making it much larger._

_You're thinking of this NOW? _By this point, Naruto was reasonably hysterical.

_If it comes to it, we'll have to try a Version Two, _Kurama replied, sounding slightly more troubled, _although I'm not sure if you would be able to stand it easily. But we can always count on that iryounin fixing you._

_Isn't there any other way? _Naruto asked, sounding a little desperate.

_Well, maybe there's a possibility that the jutsu will end if you destroy the centre of gravity-_

_That little black ball, right? I'll do it._

Naruto gritted his teeth and pushed up harder against the metal, trying to keep at least that little bit of breathing space. He took control again, and brought his chakra tails up behind him, where they were just barely able to fit in the small space. Slowly, another ball of chakra began to form between them.

"Bijuudama!" He yelled, sending the ball forward. It crashed into the metal he was pushing on and broke through, buying him a little more space.

Unfortunately, another rock on the outside happened to crash into the one he stood on just as the metal broke, pushing him upwards and even closer to the central sphere.

_Dammit, boy! You have to think before you do these things, now we have even less space! The area around the chakra sphere is already too thick, you will not be able to push through to the middle!_

Naruto growled loudly within his form and struggled to push his feet down, keeping his chakra hands firmly pressed against the top. As more and more rock joined him from below, the gravitational pressure slowly grew greater. It was dark all around and he couldn't see anything, which made the situation still more aggravating.

Standing meters below on solid ground surrounded by large pits, Deva Pein looked up impassively. He saw the large sphere of earth still as more pieces drifted slowly upward and then languidly crashed into its body with a long echo. Around him, it was otherwise soundless. But he kept his hands in the seal, determined not to stop until the Chibaku Tensei was at least twice as large as a bijuu's Version Two.

Apart from one persistent bump in the sphere where it seemed the Kyuubi was still resisting, the outside of the sphere was unbroken.

"Capture of the Kyuubi: successful."

Suddenly, a jolt shot through his body. Deva Pein widened his eyes as he realized what was happening. Slowly, the body of Yahiko slumped and fell to the ground.

Within the sphere, Naruto felt the slightest bit of release, a very small loosening of pressure. It was barely perceptible, but definitely there. The form of the Kyuubi within the dark, enclosed sphere growled loudly, and brought its tails up once again.

_Brat! That didn't work last time! _Kurama chastised, _leave it to me, we'll have to use the Version Two. It'll be easier to get out during the transformation. _

_No! _Naruto insisted, _I felt it give! _

He narrowed his eyes and sent more chakra to the space between his tails, and another ball of chakra began to form.

"Bijuudama!"

This time, the chakra sphere that crashed into the metal above was not accompanied by another bout of pressure. Naruto smashed his claws against the rock he was standing on and found it move away slightly. _Yes! _He yelled to Kurama, _I don't know why, but it stopped! There aren't any more rocks!_

He roared and began to slam his tails into the walls all around, grinning widely when the first hints of light came through the cracks. Kurama slowly poured more chakra into the form as he reached back with one chakra arm and delivered a resounding punch to the metal above. As his form struck its surface, the rock began to give way.

With that, he suddenly felt himself loosening grip. Faint light streamed in around him as the entire rock and metal sphere of the Chibaku Tensei began to fall from the sky.

_Kurama! _He yelled, _get me out of this form! I'm right underneath this thing; it's going to crush me!_

Nodding sharply from within his cage, the Demon Fox withdrew the red-and-black chakra coating from him, leaving behind his small, physical form. Naruto struggled blindly for some sort of grip until his hands finally found a study sheet of metal to grasp. Above him, the gravitational force had given, and the giant sphere was slowly disintegrating.

He took a brief look upwards and gulped, realizing that there were entire _tons _of rocks headed directly for him. With that fear driving him on, he climbed onto the sheet of metal and looked around frantically for another. Just as the back of the metal was smashed to pieces by a rock that fell on it, he found another rock to leap to.

_Move quickly! _Kurama yelled, _there's one headed for you!_

Naruto spared a brief glance at the large rock to his left and dodged as it came down beside him. He leapt to another falling projectile and kept heading in that direction, alternating between leaping and falling. After one final burst of speed, he was able to get out from under the bulk of the rock just as the centre of the Chibaku Tensei sphere smashed into the ground. With that, he ran off as fast as he could towards the direction of Deva Pein's motionless body.

_He could still be…alive, _he panted, _need to…remove chakra rods…_

Just as the orange-haired figure was only a few meters in front of him, the sudden chakra loss caught up with him. He tripped over a sharp piece of metal and stumbled forwards, about to fall right onto it.

_Watch it, boy!_

Luckily, he somehow managed to land on someone's back, and he sighed in relief when his cheek fell onto the back of a white-haired head.

ooooo

"That's the last one," Tsunade commented. She held up the long black chakra rod and examined it. It was made of smooth, tubular metal, around as long as her arm. Since Nagato had had special insertions made in his body to prevent it from rejecting the rods, there was no blood.

Jiraiya looked worriedly at Nagato, who had just been freed of the chakra receivers. The thin man's eyes were wide. Occasionally, he would blink. Other than that, he made no movement, and fell forward limply as Tsunade tore apart the metal confines that supported him.

"How long will the paralyses last?" Orochimaru asked warily. He was keeping a good distance from Nagato, and carefully refrained from looking into his concentric Rinnegan eyes. They didn't seem to be affected by the poison and were still swirling around, observing everything around him. Those eyes had haunted him for years. As such, he stood safely behind Tsunade as she worked on easing the man's body out of the metal.

"Should last for a few hours," she reported as she quickly slipped one arm out of her green haori, "I'll give him another dose later on. I'm assuming that the fact that he almost used his jutsu on us once he woke up means that Naruto wasn't able to convince him to help us."

"Shouldn't you be more worried about that?" Orochimaru questioned, "if the Kyuubi's Jinchuuriki was fighting with Deva Pein, and this Nagato was able to switch back in time to almost attack you, wouldn't that mean something has happened to the Jinchuuriki?"

"I believe in Naruto," Tsunade told him bluntly, "that boy has luck on his side; he's probably won and defeated Pein. I was only briefly worried when his eyes opened."

"Ah, but you and your senbon will always be there to rescue us, hime," Jiraiya said lightly, "we're lucky that his arms were confined. Although I would have preferred if he could talk, I have a lot of catching up to do with my dear student," he turned to give Nagato a genuine smile without any hints of mockery.

"So this is Pein-sama," Orochimaru remarked dryly, still not looking into the man's eyes, "yes, I do remember that red hair. The fact that he was just as thin back then makes him even more recognizable."

"You sound unimpressed, and yet I've noticed that you won't move out from behind our hime," Jiraiya observed, "is the snake sannin scared?" He stuck his lower lip out, as if he was talking to a child. Orochimaru simply glared back and remained in his position behind her. Fear was a natural part of survival, and only the reckless fools denied it.

"You should kill him while you have the chance," he told them, crossing his arms over his prisoner's uniform, "even if he apparently works through another body, his original body still possesses the Rinnegan. Considering how doujutsu works, he could kill you as soon as the poison wear off."

"Would you like us to kill _you _and leave you here, Oro-teme?" Jiraiya asked darkly, feeling slightly protective of his former student.

"I would not like that, no." Orochimaru confirmed quickly. He was slowly – and uncomfortably – growing used to the fact that Jiraiya could now kill him if he wanted where before, the Snake was always greater than the Toad.

"Oh leave him alone Jiraiya," Tsunade grumbled, "he's been through enough for now." She pulled off her haori and wrapped it around Nagato's chest, tying it off at the front. All he wore underneath was a pair of pants made of material thin enough to survive the compression of the device he had been in, and there was a chance of him falling sick in the cool air outside. After all, he probably hadn't stepped out of the room in a long time.

When he was relatively clothed, she pulled him out of the confines and slipped an arm under his knee to pick him up, frowning at his weight, "we're not here to harm you, Nagato," she mentioned, "we're here to protect you from Madara." Despite not being able to move anything apart from his eyes, he was still able to hear them.

"He's not Madara," Orochimaru muttered.

Jiraiya remained silent. He had originally considered telling his former teammate about his theory, but it was too outlandish. It was unlikely, even though it lingered in his mind.

"Anyway," Tsunade said again, "we should get moving." She kicked aside all the chakra receiver rods on the ground and walked out from behind the black contraption with Nagato, "we made it out early. Hopefully B and Gaara won't get lost trying to catch up with us."

With that, the four of them left the room, with Nagato held carefully in Tsunade's arms. Jiraiya led the way out, and she followed closely behind. Orochimaru, on the other hand, kept a good three steps behind both of them. Their steps were loud in the quiet halls, and they were relatively alone since Orochimaru had gone ahead and 'non-fatally-injured' all the patrol guards. Tsunade was relatively worried about him finding an opening to escape into one of the passages since he was keeping a distance.

Finally, she sighed and turned back, "Orochimaru, step up. He's not going to kill you, and you're supposed to be the one who knows the way around this place."

"You're going in the right direction," he said. Nonetheless, he gritted his teeth and walked up to the front near Jiraiya, although he visibly shivered while passing Nagato in Tsunade's arms.

"This is all your fault," he hissed quietly, "if you hadn't stayed behind all those years ago-"

"I don't regret it," the toad sage said loudly, "and I'd do it again if I had the chance. Those children had been through enough; I wasn't going to give up on them. The last thing they needed was _you _ending their lives. My only mistake was leaving them too quickly."

"It would have been merciful," Orochimaru maintained. He peered sideways at his teammate through his dark hair, "I would have done it quickly. They would have died completely peaceful, painless deaths, and the world wouldn't have had to deal with _Pein._" At his sides, his hands were clenched.

"More like _you _wouldn't have had to deal with Pein," Tsunade muttered, "I agree with Jiraiya," she said in a louder tone, "he did the right thing, no matter what the results. We cannot tell you how we know, but both he and Konan have hearts in the right places," her hand tightened around Nagato's arm.

"Glad you agree, Tsunade-hime," Jiraiya grinned, "and besides, those kids ate all my rice crackers. I had to choose between going with them and cooking up a nice big fish, or asking the snake here for food on the way out of the country."

"That…is the worst excuse I've ever heard," Orochimaru replied, "you left the world to deal with a malevolent user of the Rinnegan because your ego didn't let you ask me for food. Fascinating."

"I had food in my pack too, you know," Tsunade pointed out, slightly amused.

"I wouldn't have eaten those stupid diet bars if they were the last thing available," Jiraiya huffed, "and _you're _talking about _ego_?" he turned to his former teammate, "your stupid ego got us into some pretty dangerous situations in those days!"

"So did your damned perverseness!"

"Hah! If you had cooperated, none of them would have gone wrong!"

"You requested me to steal undergarments from the women's bathhouses," Orochimaru deadpanned.

"I was acknowledging your stealth! It's not my fault you can't take a compliment," Jiraiya grumbled, "I discarded you when I got Minato anyway. He was a lot better at stealth than you could ever be."

"I'm not surprised," Orochimaru drawled, "having heavy buckets thrown at your head is rather good incentive for quick leaning. That poor boy lost many brain cells because of you."

"Well you _were_ a bit stiff back then," Tsunade added absently, "a shinobi must always be adaptable."

"He asked me to steal _your _undergarments once."

"….alright Jiraiya-baka, I'm with him on this one."

Unable to move in Tsunade's hold, Nagato was nevertheless on alert, listening.

ooooo

Haruno Sakura stood beside her sensei's Eternal Rival and observed their two opponents. One of them was the blue-skinned man who had arrived with Obito. The other, she was certain, was a Raikage, or at least a life-sized figure of one since he was as motionless as than the average rock. He looked exactly like he did in the pictures, with the exception of abnormal black sclera around his green irises. He wore a Kumo hitai-ite like a bandana around his head, and bore a striking resemblance to the current Raikage.

She had one hand on Gai-sensei's arm, glowing with the green chakra of her Shousen. The released limiters of the Gates caused a large amount of stress to his body, and the Keimon caused the user's muscle fibres to rip. He was probably in a great deal of pain from even the incredibly light touch of her hand, but she was trying desperately to heal away both the muscle tears and the pain so that he could continue for a while without collapsing.

Above them, the clouds were covering most of the sky and making it feel more like deep evening than afternoon. They stood on the lake that spanned almost half a kilometer around them, and the water below was murky with the leaves and the dirt that it had swallowed into its depths. Sakura was glad for it; it would make them much easier for their reinforcements to find. A lake this big was uncommon amid the forests of Hi no Kuni.

She was slightly worried about the fact that she had given the message 'Uchiha Madara' when the masked man was actually Obito, but it could only help. The Sandaime had to take the word of a jonin seriously; their reinforcements would be strong.

"I've seen this person in all the history books," She informed the other jonin, "that's the Sandaime Raikage."

"Indeed, that is what he told me," Gai nodded sharply. She looked sideways at his dark red skin and frowned. From what she knew of the Eight Gates, he should not be able to keep them open for so long. It seemed that he had truly mastered them. But even so, it would be hard to draw out the battle.

"So this Kisame-san made him appear?" She questioned.

"Thank you," Kisame called out from a few meters away.

Sakura and Gai looked at him, confused.

"For saying my name correctly," he clarified, sounding both tired and rather world-weary, "I'm still going to have to defeat you and take your teammate, but I'd like to express my gratitude before doing so." He was still leaning with one elbow on the hilt of his sword-thing. In front of him, the dark-skinned man who was almost as wide as he was tall had still not made a move. He looked forwards, his eyes unseeing.

"You're very welcome!" Gai said brightly, watching as the Akatsuki member sighed, "but we must ask Raikage-sama why he is cooperating with the missing-nin," he turned to the man standing in front of Kisame.

"Gai-sensei," Sakura said quietly, "I said that I saw him in the _history _books. The Sandaime Raikage is dead."

"That cannot be," Gai frowned, "dead people do not usually fight." The strange green aura emanating from him was hard to stand upright near, but Sakura managed it, "Raikage-sama, what is happening?"

The life-sized figure of the Raikage did not respond. Or move.

Kisame chuckled, "he used to talk. But it seemed that he was somehow defeated when he told his opponents of his abilities. So I told that snake to fix him," he grinned at their confused looks, "it took a while, but I didn't take no for an answer."

"How…can he be alive?" Sakura asked slowly, narrowing her eyes, "he fell against an army many years ago!"

"Yes, well he's not alive," the shark-like man grinned, "he's dead. This is a reanimation, and he has everything except his voice."

Sakura looked from him to the Raikage with a frown. Dead? Well, it was true that a shinobi's sclera tended to darken if their dead bodies were preserved long enough. Something about lingering chakra effects. But...really, actually dead? Gai-sensei had a point; dead people didn't fight.

The only thing she could think of were rumors of a certain jutsu that had been added in the footnotes of a Konoha history book…

"I don't really know anything about reanimation jutsu, but I think it has something to do with the Nidaime Hokage" she said quietly so that only he could hear, "but maybe this person is a complete copy of the Raikage."

"I see," Gai commented, "then it is fine. We must fight him off until our reinforcements arrive."

"But..he's _dead,_" she stressed, "can dead people die?"

"I don't see why not. If they could die the first time, maybe they can die again," the other jonin replied with his eyebrows furrowed in concentration. "I don't exactly understand what this 'reanimation' is either," he admitted, "but I can attempt to take him down with a one-hit attack from the Seventh Gate. Even if does have the power of a kage, he should have some trouble with it."

"No," Sakura said immediately, "I've read about this person. Apparently, he has an unbreakable shield and some sort of invincible spear within his body. It's not wise to risk a one-hit attack that might not work, since you'd be tired out. Maybe I could try distracting him…"

"Do not attack with taijutsu," Gai said immediately, "you seem to have information on this person, and you are an iryounin. The Gates cause much stress to my body, and you can help with that. We cannot risk him taking you down. You must think of a strategy and inform me on what to do, and I will fight him in close range."

She nodded reluctantly. Coming up with a strategy to defeat both an s-rank missing-nin and a dead kage without much to work with…but the kage did not seem to be conscious, and Gai had almost taken down Kisame. She narrowed her eyes in determination, "Gai-sensei, report on Kisame."

"He says that he will not fight us any longer," he told her, "he plans to back up his partner later on, and does not want to use his chakra."

At that, she relaxed a little, but not visibly. One opponent, then. One seemingly kage-like opponent.

A few meters in front of them, Kisame was still grinning. "Why don't we make an agreement?" He suggested, "the two of you are no match for the Sandaime Raikage. If you turn and leave your teammate to us right now, we will allow you to go with no trouble. Even you, Infuriating Beast-san. Otherwise, Raikage-sama will have to take you both down as soon as his commands force him to."

"Like hell!" Sakura snapped, "we're not letting you anywhere near Sasuke or Obito-san!"

"Hmm, seems like you're not too good at remembering names either," he sighed, "my idiot partner's name is Tobi. Well, you were closer that _your _idiot partner, at least."

At this, Sakura felt the urge to protest, but held back. Maybe Kakashi-sensei's friend was disguising himself, and she didn't want to blow his cover. She turned to Gai, "Gai-sensei, I need some information to work with. I know that he has some sort of metaphorical shield and spear, but I need to see how he fights."

"Understood, Sakura," the jonin nodded vigorously, "Yosh! I will show him the Youth of a Konoha nin!"

With that, he rushed forwards, toward the Raikage who still had not moved an inch. His speed allowed him to appear directly in front of the man, and he brought one leg up in level with his chest. It swung forwards with astonishing speed.

"Konoha Kongouriki Senpu!"

Sakura watched closely from her position. All she needed to do was observe from afar to see what this 'reanimation' could do. And hope that Gai-sensei didn't get himself killed while engaging him.

Her eyes widened as the jonin's kick landed directly in the middle of the Raikage's chest. He still hadn't moved one inch. Their opponent had just taken a kick from someone with his Shoumon limiters freed, and all it had done was leave a small scuff on the skin of his bare chest and push him back a centimeter or two. It was as if he was some sort of statue.

Her theory was disproved when the Raikage's left arm came up. He had four fingers held out, with the thumb curled into his palm. She frowned, and her eyes widened at the sudden coating of blue lightning around it.

"Gai-sensei! Doton: Doryuuheki!"

Her wall of earth came up just as Gai recovered from the jarring pain that shot through his leg at the impact. He quickly drew it back, frowning at the sudden rush of earth between him and his opponent. However, he realized that Sakura probably had a reason for doing so, and leaned back quickly.

Her reason became apparent when the Raikage's hand shot through the wall as if it was made of paper, almost crashing into his shoulder. If he had not moved in time, it would have gone right through the bone. As such, the wall of earth seemed to have barely slowed his punch.

Gai leapt back quickly, keeping a few meters of distance from their seemingly dead opponent, "Sakura," he yelled back, "his skin, it is like metal!"

"And he just went though a three foot rock wall without resistance," she observed, "it would be best if you did not stay too close to him. These must be the unbreakable shield and spear techniques they spoke of."

"Not stay close to him?" As a taijutsu user, Gai found that hard to comply with. But he nodded, and ran forward, feeling the surge of energy as the Keimon released the limiters within his stomach. He brought both fists near his waist and stopped a few meters away from the Raikage.

"Asa Kujaku!"

His fists were a blur as the fiery blows created by friction rushed forwards. The Raikage made no move to defend himself, and behind him, Kisame was still calmly leaning on his sword.

Gai did not overpower it. It was only to see what the 'reanimation' could do, and he stopped after a few blows to wait for the fiery air to clear. When it did, his eyebrows almost disappeared under his hairline. The man's muscular body was completely surrounded by blue lightning. It shimmered around him, even as he remained completely still.

"What is this?" He asked in a low voice, turning to Kisame.

"How should I know?" The shark-like man's wavering voice replied, "it must be some jutsu of the Sandaime Raikage," his grin widened, "you should move."

At that moment, Gai felt a sudden crackling of lightning behind him. He looked to one side to see that the Raikage's hand was coming to strike his side, with three fingers held out. He forced the Toumon, the gate of speed, open to its maximum as he dodged.

"Doton: Doryuusou!"

A spike of rock came up just in time to crash against the bottom of the Raikage's arm. Anyone else's arm would have been flung upwards, but the reanimation barely noticed. His hand came forward only slightly slower.

That was all that Gai needed to move out of the way. He leapt back in front of Sakura with one knee against the water, and then straightened, holding out one hand in his taijutsu stance.

"This person is strong," he commented seriously, "perhaps he really is the actual Sandaime Raikage, instead of a copy."

"He is using a form of nintaijutsu to coat his body in raiton nature," Sakura observed quickly, "and the three fingers strike he used just now is at least twice as powerful as the one from before. Punching directly forwards through a wall is something that even I can do with my Okashou, but it is almost impossible to punch with that intensity when the pressure is upwards. His physical strength is ridiculous."

The only reason her attacks had had any effect what so ever was because raiton was weak against doton. Otherwise, the strike would have easily gone through Gai-sensei's side.

"Sakura," Gai said suddenly, his brows knit, "this jutsu…this reanimation…I find it very familiar. I think Kakashi mentioned that something like this happened during Orochimaru's invasion of the chunin exams."

"I wouldn't know," Sakura said truthfully, "I was in the hospital during the invasion. Is there anything you remember about the state of the 'reanimation'?"

"No," he admitted, "I was assigned to watch Sasuke."

"I can tell you something," Kisame spoke up. He straightened and swung his sword over one shoulder, "I can tell you that you will never be able to defeat him."

"You shouldn't be so sure," Sakura told him between gritted teeth. She clenched her fists at her side, desperately trying to think of a way to defeat the dead Raikage who seemed impenetrable. Nothing came to mind.

"I'm serious," the blue-skinned Akatsuki member went on, "even if you drive a punch right through him, he won't die." He stood calmly with his sword, content to simply watch the two Konoha nin fail. Every once in a while, he shot a look towards Tobi, who still hadn't started fighting.

At this, both she and Gai paused, turning to him with worry. The reanimation went back to standing as still as a statue.

"Go on," she muttered. Information was information, no matter where it came from. She would analyze its validity after she heard it.

"His body is immortal," Kisame explained, looking generally pleased, "it will regenerate no matter how many times you kill him." The great sword tapped against his shoulder and squirmed around, as if sensing the use of the word 'chakra', "it's only a matter of time until he's forced to attack again. He seems to be trying not to. Lucky for you."

Sakura stilled. Regenerate? Like…shishou's Strength of a Hundred, except he wouldn't run out of chakra? But that would make him…a sense of foreboding fell upon her, and she suddenly felt more fear rise up. She tried to quell it, telling herself that she was supposed to be the calm one. But it only became stronger.

"Gai-sensei," she said quietly, "we have to take Sasuke and get out of here."

Gai nodded and turned as she began to run towards where Sasuke and Obito were standing. Her teammate was completely focused on the masked man. But before they could reach him, the reanimation of the Raikage had moved to stand in their way. Sakura's eyes widened as he came towards them with his four-fingered attack. She froze, and would have been impaled if Gai had not pushed her out of the way. But even as they stood a few meters off, the reanimation returned to his position, blocking them off from Sasuke.

It seemed that they weren't going to let them anywhere near Sasuke.

"Hmm," Gai said quietly, "then we cannot kill him to death again. How does one fight off an immortal kage? At least until reinforcements arrive, of course." His voice was completely even, reflecting none of the oceans of fear that Sakura felt.

She couldn't respond; the gravity of the situation had finally hit her. She was up against an S-rank missing-nin and a Raikage_. _An _immortal _ was…it was impossible! Gai was an A-rank jonin who could probably take down Kisame, but he wasn't a kage level shinobi! Both of their abilities together were probably still not kage level!

"Sakura," Gai said again, "this is not good, Young Cherry Blossom. Maybe if we coordinated an attack to pin him down somehow…" But Maito Gai was not a strategist in any sense of the word, and he was regarding his Eternal Rival's student with slight worry.

"_Not good_?" Sakura asked in a harsh whisper. She didn't bother to disguise the fear in her eyes when she looked up at him, "how can you stay so calm, Gai-sensei? Don't you understand that we are up against an _immortal kage?_" her voice was silent, but almost hysterical.

She had _never _been too scared to fight. Not even when faced with Uchiha Itachi himself. At that point, she had been willing to die if Sasuke got away in time, if her death was meaningful. But this was different! Itachi had been frighteningly strong, but at least he had been _alive_. You could kill people who were alive. She would be willing to put herself in danger now if her teammates could escape, but she couldn't even think of a way to do that!

Instead of sharing her worry, he burst into a smile. The shine of his teeth almost blinded her as usual, and she inwardly groaned. How could he smile in a situation like this? Was he ridiculously brave or ridiculously stupid?

"Sakura," he began, inserting as much cheer into his voice as possible, "even in a situation like this, a shinobi must keep their calm."

"But it's hopeless!" She said quietly. She had made fun of Sasuke for weeks after hif first mission as captain had come out less than perfect, and now it seemed that luck was deciding to make her pay for it. Out of the corner of her eye, she glanced at Kisame, who was giving them an amused grin.

"Nothing is hopeless when one uses the true power of their Youth!"

"I don't think Youth is what we need here!" She whispered harshly, "What we need is an army of _a thousand shinobi, _which is what it once took to bring this Raikage down!"

"Well," he tilted his head to one side, "a thousand seems a little large, but I'm sure our reinforcements will be a help."

She openly stared. Was he fooling around?

He rubbed the back of his head a little sheepishly, "what I meant to say is that we have many teammates who we can wait for, even if they are not here on this Youthful mission with us. After all, Kakashi is not registered on a mission-"

"He and Naruto are on some secret mission with the anbu, remember?"

"-well then someone else will be there to take his place. I believe they usually send anbu squads for these things," he finished. His smile faded a little when he realized that his words had not had the intended effect, and she was still looking between him and the Raikage frantically.

"It'll take at least an hour or two for them to get here," she bit her lip, "by which time we could be buried underwater! I…there are some things that I have learned from Tsunade-sama in the past few months, but they may not be enough!"

"Sakura," he began again, "maybe it is true that some situations are dire. But I think that people can do unanticipated things within the vibrant days of their Youth when they have someone to protect," he shot a brief glance at where Sasuke was standing, talking quietly with Obito, "we are required to keep these Unyouthful missing-nin away from Young Sasuke at all costs, and we must not fail," seeing the slight change in her eyes, he went on, "a shinobi must never give up!"

Usually, she felt like bashing her head against a wall whenever Lee or Gai-sensei began break out their Youth talk, but his words were strangely cathartic. Sakura took a moment to force her fear down, and took a deep breath.

"Nor must a shinobi ever break down in the middle of battle, for that is when the truest form of their Youth emerges!"

Sakura sighed, and her lips couldn't help but twitch into a slight smile at his enthusiasm. She was so out of it that _Gai-sensei _had just found the need to give her a motivational speech.

"Right," she muttered, trying to push down the remaining fear and think properly again, "you should keep your purple prose off the battlefield, Gai-sensei."

"Kakashi always says the same," Gai replied happily.

Sakura turned to look at the Raikage, who was beginning to shimmer with his lightning nintaijutsu once again. It would only be a matter of time before he attacked.

Maybe Gai-sensei's idea of pinning him down had merit, or maybe they could trap him and try conducting the lightning through the water. He was currently balanced on top using his chakra coated feet, but what would happen if they tried to drown him? Would the Edo Tensei's lungs hold water, or would he sink with the weight? Or maybe they could find a way to pierce his skin, and then shove something into it, like a tree trunk. Would his skin regenerate around it and trap it, making him heavier and therefore slower?

"I can see that you are regaining the power of your Youth, Sakura!" The other jonin exclaimed. The green aura around him began to shine once again, "yosh! I will keep this Raikage away from Young Sasuke!" He declared loudly.

"Maybe this 'Youth' thing has benefits after all…" Sakura mumbled, decidedly embarrassed about her previous bout of terror and determined to make up for it.

Gai wiped exaggerated tears from his eyes even as Kisame raised an eyebrow at their antics, "one of my Eternal Rival's Hip and Cool students has finally acknowledged the benefits of a Youthful attitude. This is a wonderful day indeed!"

"This does not mean I'm going to start wearing tights."

"…well, some find Youth in their own way."

ooooo

A hundred meters away, two figures stood facing each other on the same large expanse of water. The masked Akatsuki member was standing with his arms crossed and his head tilted, contemplating. He had long abandoned his cheerful act, and was regarding the Uchiha boy with as much seriousness as his revealed eye could convey. Seeing as that eye contained the Mangekyou Sharingan, that was a lot of seriousness indeed.

"So now you are alone," Uchiha Obito commented, "do you really think you can stand against me with the scraps of power Itachi passed down to you?"

Sasuke frowned. "I'd rather not fight you if I can avoid it," he admitted, "my sensei thinks of you as a friend." Despite his words, he was on full alert. On one hand, this person was sensei's teammate. On the other hand, he was wearing the cloak of an s-rank missing-nin, and couldn't be taken lightly.

The masked man tilted his head to one side, "oh? Is that what he told you?" His voice was deep once more, and Sasuke had no idea where his previous cheerful tone had gone.

"No," he replied honestly, "but he doesn't need to say it. He visits the memorial that has your name on it almost every day." Sasuke looked across at the man curiously. He felt occasional tremors ripple through the water he stood on, but he forced himself not to turn to see how Sakura and Gai-sensei were doing. The two of them were capable jonin, and he had his own opponent to deal with. Looking their way now would only be a distraction.

From years of experience with his sensei, Sasuke could tell that Obito was smiling under his mask. It wasn't a pleasant smile.

"So he's plagued with guilt, is he?" Obito asked, a twinge of amusement in his deep voice, "interesting. I hope he keeps visiting that memorial until the day he dies."

Sasuke glowered, "he's your friend!" His own Mangekyou began to slowly swirl into his eyes. He had not used it since first activating it months ago, but it felt as familiar as his own Sharingan. Kakashi had never told them explicitly that he had considered Obito 'death' his own fault, but he had been the leader for that mission. They all knew that he felt guilty, but he had gone through enough pain for it.

Obito spared a contemplating look for six-pointed design in his eyes, with the inner circle that held Itachi's three swirls. So this boy had taken down Itachi after all. "I'm not the only name on that memorial stone," he replied quietly, "there are other names there. And a name that he's guilty for having etched. A name that this ruined world is guilty for."

At this, Sasuke raised an eyebrow, "Obito-san, I get the feeling that we're both talking about different things here."

"I did not come here to talk about that man anyway," the masked Akatsuki member told him, "you do not know anything about Hatake Kakashi or your village, and if you knew, you would not be so loyal to them. I came here to talk about _you_."

Sasuke gritted his teeth as he said that, but he ignored the words. Sakura had already made his choice for him, and he was going to put his trust in his sensei. This person, on the other hand...he glared back, "what _about _me?"

Obito took a step closer, holding out his palms as if to show that he was unarmed, "why wouldn't I be interested in you?" He asked, "we are the only two Uchiha left alive, after all."

"So you want a replacement in your organization for Itachi?" Sasuke asked sharply, "I'm not interested. Itachi was driven to become a missing-nin, but I won't take that path." He noted that apparently, this person did not know of Madara's existence. If he didn't consort with Madara, maybe they had a chance of bringing him back. When the reinforcements arrived, he would have to instruct them to capture him instead of killing him.

"I'm offering you more than that," Obito said quietly, "I can teach you how to use the Mangekyou Sharingan beyond what even Itachi could accomplish. Do you not wish to revive the power of the Uchiha clan?"

"Yes, and when I get back to Konoha I'm sure Sakura will continue to try setting me up with her friends," Sasuke confirmed, "I don't need your help."

"But you know nothing," Obito's voice was growing deeper, and the red of his Mangekyou eye stared on with frightening intensity, "by yourself, you will never reach your potential. You used to be an ambitious shinobi, a true Uchiha; I know that Itachi made sure of it with his actions. What happened to you now? Why are you content to wag your tail to Konoha's every whim, to submit to them the strength of the Uchiha?"

"Because Konoha is my village," the Uchiha boy stared right back, "and it's yours, too. Come back, Uchiha Obito. I don't know what exactly happened to you after sensei saw you die, but you're not listed as a missing-nin. Kakashi-sensei would be relieved to find you alive. People make mistakes in their lives, and it's a friend's responsibility to forgive them." The words felt strange coming out of his mouth, but he said them anyway. They sounded like a mix of Naruto's protective determination and Sakura's caring.

"It is not him, so much as the world itself. It seems that they've turned you into a fool," Obito observed, "but that is fine. You will be coming with me today, and I will show you the truth about the village you like so much. You see, I find that one's personality can go through strange changes when they come upon certain realizations."

Sasuke frowned. Was he being deliberately vague? Truth about the village? He already knew that Itachi had been ordered to murder the clan. Did Obito know as well? What else could he be talking about?

"Besides," the masked man went on, "you probably have something of Itachi's that belongs to me, and I will be taking it back."

"Something of Itachi's? Are you after my eyes?" Sasuke asked sharply.

"No, not at all. You need those eyes, you are useless to me without them," Obito explained, "I'm referring to something else, which I believe Itachi left inside you." He frowned underneath his mask when he saw the genuine confusion in Sasuke's eyes, "but it seems that not even you are aware of it. No matter, I will find a way to extract it."

Sasuke took a step back on the water to put more space between them, "I have no idea what you mean," he admitted.

"It is nothing you need to know," Obito replied, taking another step forward, "better if you don't". The ripples on the water caused by his steps were mixing in with the ripples from Sakura and Gai's fight, and Sasuke no longer knew what was happening. He wanted to see how they were doing, to see if they were holding up against the dark-skinned man and the shark-man, but he didn't take his eyes off his sensei's friend.

"I will ask you one last time, Uchiha Sasuke," the eye glared at him from its mask-hole, "come with me, and I will make you a worthy heir of the Uchiha."

"Like hell," Sasuke replied, narrowing his eyes. Fine, if this person wanted to fight, then he would fight.

"That is too bad," Obito reached into his Akatsuki cloak. His hand emerged with a single scroll, "then I suppose I will have to change your mind myself. At your power level, it will not be too difficult to capture you." He held the scroll by its end, allowing it to unfurl downwards.

Sasuke frowned at the strange seal markings on the paper. There was some sort of circular base, but that was all he could identify from what he had read of Naruto's fuuinjutsu texts. The myriad of symbols around it could have made it anything from a large-scale paper-bomb to a storage seal.

He watched as the Akatsuki member dropped the scroll to the water, allowing it to float on top, and then made a seal before pressing his palms to the center of the seal's base.

"Kuchoise: Edo Tensei!"

**ooooo**

**So I mapped out the rest of the chapter plan, and realized that it will probably be more than 48. Maybe 51ish. Although when I started the next one, I felt this deep, new _feeling _that I had ****never felt before. I never thought the Great INK would ever fall prey to this...but I might have a minor case of writers block. Yes, I know. Gasp. It's like my mind is yelling at me for not doing my EE and this is my punishment to myself. But MKani and I do have a few classes together when school starts, so I'll get her to use her special version of MKani Therapy on me and then I should be fine.**

**So I've been browsing non-favorites-sorted fics, and I've noticed that almost everything is romance! Why is this? The only kiss in the entire 300+ episodes and 500+ chapters has been between two twelve-year-old boys who happened to awkwardly fall onto each other's mouths. If you think that there's going to any romance in canon, you haven't been paying attention. I mean, there are some_ really_ good romance fics ('The Girl from Whirlpool' is absolutely amazing) but where's the action and the adventure and the epicness that Naruto is all about?**

**On that note, any ****fix recommendations for me? I mean, if you're reading this story, you probably have a good grasp of my taste ^^**

**And I also wrote a short one-shot about Team Gai to try and get over the writer's block, it's called "Team Two". Go check it out and I will be a happy writer :D**

**Review please (^^)! I'm trying to reach 830 :P**


	42. Susano'o & The Rain of Ame

**Chapter 41 – Susano'o & The Rain of Ame**

"Who are you?" Sasuke narrowed his eyes at the figure that had just emerged from Obito's scroll. He didn't know that it was possible to summon people in the way sensei summoned dogs and the dobe summoned toads.

The man who stood before him made a strange image. He was tall and lithe, and wore loose brown pants in the Iwa style, but no shirt. Instead, the entire top half of his body was covered in bandages. The strangest thing about him was probably the sclera of his eyes, which were completely back. Sasuke had been around Sakura long enough to know many medical facts about the human body, and he knew that the eyes of shinobi only became like that after they died. Nevertheless, he stood on top of the water, seemingly alive and moving. But the bandaged figure did not reply to Sasuke's question, and instead turned to look at Obito.

"Don't ignore me!" Sasuke growled. He looked across at Obito, "who is he?"

At that moment, the man wrapped in bandages spoke. His voice was a low muffle, since his mouth was covered, but it was clear enough to hear, "this is the Hokage's jutsu, isn't it?" He asked carefully. Grey eyes looked out at him, surrounding by their dark sclera.

"So you are familiar with it. Then you must know that it is impossible to resist," Obito replied, ignoring Sasuke for the time being, "however, this is far beyond the level that the Nidaime Hokage was able to reach. You have been reanimated with every ability you possessed in your life, and the added benefit of regeneration. You see, I had a genius at my disposal."

Sasuke watched with gritted teeth as the figure turned back to him. The look he gave the Uchiha boy was not one of anger, or sadness at what he had been commanded to do. It was simply confusion.

"And you require me to willingly capture this boy?" The bandaged man asked, "I do not prefer being controlled in this way."

"You have no choice," Obito went on, crossing his arms over his Akatsuki cloak, "eventually, you will be forced to attack. The farther you delay, the more chakra you will have to use. Show him, Mu-sama, that he is still weak, no matter how many praises he receives from his village. When thrown among rabbits, even the fox thinks of himself as a lion."

"Mu-sama?" Sasuke asked, ignoring the insult, "is that your name?" he kept his eyes trained on the bandaged man. The name was strangely familiar…

"Indeed," the figure replied stoically, "I was once the Nidaime Tsuchikage of Iwa."

At that, Sasuke faltered. He had heard that name before, in a shinobi history book. Mu had been one of the strongest shinobi to ever emerge from Iwa. The kunai he was gripping in defense suddenly seemed far below adequate, simply after hearing that title. The Nidaime Tsuchikage? But his hands regained their grip on the blades when he tried to think sensibly.

"Iwa is ruled by its Sandaime Tsuchikage, Ohnoki-sama," Sasuke recited. That much he had already read in the current event books, "and I think that it's tradition in Iwa to move on to the next kage only when the previous one dies." Indeed that was probably why the village was being ruled by someone almost twice as old as the dobe's Ero-Sennin. He couldn't have 'once been' the Tsuchikage.

"So Ohnoki is still alive," the bandaged man – Mu-sama – commented absently.

Obito turned to Sasuke, who was looking supremely confused. "I believe you've heard of this before, Sasuke. A weaker version of this jutsu was used by Orochimaru when he invaded the chunin exams."

Sasuke's eyes widened. He remembered that, it was something called the 'Edo Tensei'. The dobe had detailed to him how Kakashi-sensei had fought against the reanimated Shodai Hokage. Sakura hadn't been all that interested, but he had dragged every last detail out of the blond boy. His gaze shot back to the bandaged man. If this was that jutsu, then this person was already dead. And Obito-san had stated that this was an improved version in which this person was just as powerful as he had been when he was alive. His grip on the kunai loosened once more. What on earth had he gotten himself into?

He threw a quick glance at where Sakura and Gai-sensei were, and noticed that they were trying to run towards him. A small hint of relief flared up inside him at the thought of having some help facing this person, but it was promptly squashed when the dark-skinned figure fighting alongside the shark-man blocked their way, almost delivering a killing blow to Sakura before Gai-sensei pulled her away.

It seemed like the shark-man wasn't allowing them to come to his rescue, and reinforcements were so far away. He ground his teeth again and looked forward, forcing his pulse to calm down. A shinobi must never show emotions in a battle. A shinobi must remain calm at all times. He had to fight these people off. After all, Itachi would have been able to easily put up a fight against even a kage, and he had his brother's eyes now.

All he had to do was stay alive, hopefully talk to Obito-san on why he was doing this, and keep an eye on the Tsuchikage reanimation.

"I think I understand what time period I am in," the Nidaime Tsuchikage commented, "and this area, are we located in Mizu?" He looked around at the small lake they stood on, and the trees in the distance where the water ended.

"No," Sasuke replied honestly, "we're around a hundred kilometers north-west of Konohagakure." If this person was a controlled reanimation, then maybe if he played right he could get him to _not _kill him. Then again, Obito-san had mentioned that he would not be able to break free of the commands…but maybe he would tell Sasuke how he could be defeated.

At that name of the village, a brief glint seemed to appear in the Tsuchikage's eye, "so Konoha is still standing?" He asked.

"Well, of course," Sasuke was momentarily confused, and then remembered that this person had lived during the time of the Second War. He wouldn't know anything about what had happened afterwards.

"I did not summon you to talk to him," Obito spoke up, seeming slightly amused. His orange-masked head tilted to one side, "you are aware that if you delay, you might just defeat him in one blow. After all, you are a user of _that _jutsu…"

"Who are you?" Mu turned to ask him. His eyes swept over the orange mask, the eye that was no longer visible, and the long black cloak with strange patterns.

"I am no one," Obito replied easily, "only a missing-nin."

"You're not no one," Sasuke protested. He couldn't think of the friend sensei had described as a missing-nin. He only remembered stories of a boy who was late to everything, and liked to hide his ecchi books from his clan members, "if you come back you can be-"

"Silence. I am getting tired of your pointless words, you know nothing. Come quietly or loudly, it does not matter to me," the masked man said firmly, "I will show you firsthand that you are still weak."

"I feel the urge to attack, boy," the Nidaime Tsuchikage spoke up, "know that I am not doing this of my own will. What is your name?" He looked at Sasuke with something akin to pity in his eyes, and asked the question in the same way some liked to know a little about the person whose throat they were going to slit.

"Uchiha Sasuke," he replied instantly. It seemed that this person did not want to fight him, and he may as well continue to encourage that opinion.

"Uchiha? You are from Konoha, then?" Suddenly, the pity began to flee, and the previous glint came back, as he turned sharply to the masked Akatsuki member "why am I being commanded to capture this boy?"

"That is not something you need to know," Obito told him.

"I realize," Muu said quietly, "I am indeed familiar with this jutsu, and know that I have no choice. But maybe I will not dread it as much as I thought," the way he was looking at Sasuke was now very different.

Sasuke frowned, and then he realized his mistake. His flak jacket marked him as a jonin; he had just admitted to being a Konoha jonin to the Nidaime Tsuchikage, who had spent his entire life in battle against Konoha and Kiri. The fear rose up inside him as he realized that he had just given an immortal Tsuchikage reason to dislike him. This person was far out of his league, and he didn't even have the dobe to help him seal, like what sensei had done to the Shodai.

"Tsuchikage-sama," he tried, "I do not want to fight you."

"Neither of us has a choice," Muu stated simply. Sasuke watched in dread as he brought his hands up near his chest.

"Jinton: Genkai Hakuri no Jutsu!"

Due to the time the reanimation had spent fighting the commands, he was forced to throw large amounts of chakra into his first powerful blow; one that would have easily taken down any jonin. A small, bright sphere began to form between his hands, surrounded by a cylindrical, dimmer area. Sasuke furrowed his brows and tried to dig up every piece of information he knew about this Tsuchikage, but only his name came up. He had never heard of anything called the 'jinton'.

He was too slow to dodge when the cylinder began to grow along with the light inside of it, and raised his kunai in an attempt to block as the light came towards him with frightening speed. But he knew that the metal would do nothing against the attack, and there was no time to form seals. His red eyes swirled with black as the Genkai Hakuri grew closer.

As the light came close, Sasuke had to squint, and then he was suddenly thrown backward as it crashed into him. But for some reason, the expected pain in his chest never came. He was sure that the attack was meant to cut him, but instead it had only pushed him down. He lay there on the surface of the water for a few seconds before realizing that his vision was tinted in reddish purple.

"You've never used that before, have you?" Obito spoke up, watching the giant, deep purple figure surround the boy, "it is too bad you will not be able to keep it up for long."

Sasuke pushed himself up to his elbows and looked around frantically, trying to figure out why he was surrounded in something purple. When he looked up, he realized what it was.

_Susano'o._

His eyes widened in recognition and he slowly stumbled to his feet, slipping on the water. This was Itachi's…he had somehow activated it automatically. A giant translucent figure stood above him in full armor, protecting him. Sasuke looked down at the water, and his reflection peered back at him. His eyes were red with the Mangekyou Sharingan.

"That is Madara's jutsu," the Nidaime Tsuchikage commented in a low voice.

"Indeed," Obito added, "he and his older brother were the first to use it since Uchiha Madara himself."

Sasuke suddenly realized that he felt tired, almost drained. This Susano'o…it took so much chakra, especially after blocking that powerful jutsu. His reserves were only above average since he and Itachi had both been slightly low-chakra types naturally. Itachi had traded his life force for its use, but he didn't know how to do that. This defense would not remain up much longer…but he now had something else at his disposal. He looked on at the bandaged man, who was preparing another cylinder in his hands. The Edo Tensei granted regeneration, but maybe if the entire reanimated body was annihilated…

"You look tired, Sasuke," Obito went on, "are you sure you do not wish to come quietly? It would be troublesome if you accidently died." He still stood calmly with his arms crossed, content to not lift a finger.

Sasuke gave him a quick glare before turning back to his opponent. He had to try. He had to last until the reinforcements arrived. And he didn't think he could take another direct blow from that jinton jutsu. With that in mind, he began to gather chakra in his left eye, and briefly closed his eyelid to prepare. Just as the Tsuchikage shot another one of those jinton cylinders, he opened his eye.

"Amaterasu!"

Immediately, he felt a sharp pain shoot through his eye. The black flames materialized directly on the Tsuchikage's form, and Sasuke almost breathed a sigh of relief. The bandages began to burn with black fire…but the cylindrical attack was still headed directly for him.

Sasuke's eyes widened. The flames had not stopped the attack; he had not been fast enough. In desperation, he poured his chakra into the Susano'o once more. The giant purple figure rose in its barest skeletal form, not strong enough to don the armor it had first come with. It put both hands in front of it to block the attack, but the jinton jutsu tore into it. Sasuke felt himself being thrown back again. He landed on his back a few meters away, and struggled to push himself up to his knees. Around him, the Susano'o disappeared. If he wanted to use it in battle, he would probably have to train with it first…

"That is Madara's jutsu as well, I think," the Tsuchikage commented. He stood impassively as the black flames burnt through his body, only for the Edo Tensei to promptly begin regeneration.

"It is," Obito agreed, watching Sasuke struggle to his feet. He walked over to the boy, close enough to reach out and touch, and gazed at him with his Sharingan exposed once more, "Sasuke, you are finished." Behind him, the Nidaime Tsuchikage was watching their talk with arms crossed over a bandaged chest. His form was now fully regenerated

Sasuke took a step away and glared with all the hatred he could manage, "why are you doing this? I'm not interested in joining you, isn't this a bit sudden?!"

"I was not interested either, originally. But if I can change, then so can you," Obito replied impassively, "don't be so blindly loyal to your village. They were the ones who ordered Itachi to slaughter your entire clan; it makes no sense for you to side with them now."

"I know," Sasuke replied firmly, "I know that they ordered Itachi to kill my clan, and I know exactly why he did it. My brother did it for his village, and for his pacifist ideals." He was beginning to feel inklings of pity for his sensei. The man whose memorial he had spent years visiting was now a missing-nin, a criminal.

All the fear that had been building inside him was replaced by uncomfortable sympathy. He tried to imagine Sakura or the dobe abandoning the village, and found that it was impossible to think of. Sakura was too loyal; she would punch him for even considering such a thing. And Naruto, however much of a dobe he was, would do absolutely anything for his village.

"And look where Itachi is now," the masked Akatsuki member commented dryly, "I'm offering you power, and a purpose. Once you learn-"

"My purpose is to fight for my village as a jonin of Konoha," the Uchiha boy replied in a low voice. It seemed that sensei's friend was too far-gone. Just as Obito reached out to clasp his arm, he slashed out with a quickly drawn kunai, forcing him to step back if only for a moment.

"Well said."

Both Uchiha looked up suddenly at the new voice. It came from above, and Sasuke smiled with relief when he saw who it was.

Sai had returned on his ink bird, and its long white wings contrasted sharply against the grey clouds that covered the sky as it hovered in the air. He peered down and gave them one of his typical bland smiles, although at this point Sasuke was willing to say it was one of the most beautiful sights he had ever seen. But there was a second figure seated directly behind him on the bird. The Sandaime Hokage had come with him.

The two figures landed directly in front of Sasuke. Sai stood near his ink bird, ready to take flght again, and the Hokage looked at the masked figure and the bandaged man warily.

"Hokage-sama," Sasuke called, "that person…he is-"

"Uchiha Madara, I know," Sarutobi Hiruzen replied, narrowing his eyes at the orange mask. He was out of his Hokage robes and was instead dressed in shinobi armor.

"No," Sasuke said quietly so only the other man could hear, "his name is Uchiha Obito, and he was once on Kakashi-sensei's team. He was the one who gave sensei his Sharingan, reported dead in service." He watched at the Hokage froze, seeming slightly shocked, "he has the same Mangekyou Sharingan as sensei," Sasuke went on, "and he's used the same Edo Tensei as Orochimaru to summon the reanimation of the Nidaime Tsuchikage." He kept his eyes on the Hokage's armor-plated back.

There were a few moments of silence in which the Sandaime remained quiet, simply assessing the orange-masked figure that was watching him while radiating amusement, and the bandaged figure with the angry glint in his eyes.

"I see," the Sandaime said worriedly, "I think I understand now what Itachi was trying to say, yes…"

"Itachi?" Sasuke asked, confused, "Hokage-sama, we must get away from here. Sakura and Gai-sensei are fighting other Akatsuki members and are waiting for backup."

"Backup will reach them shortly," Hiruzen said quietly. Indeed his entire personal anbu squad would be helping them, and at least one of those members knew how to seal. Even if the other Akatsuki were also using Edo Tensei, they would be taken down.

"Hokage-sama," Obito spoke up, watching the Uchiha boy whisper, "how nice it is to see you again. I would be worried, but there is really no reason. Maybe you would have been able to defeat Mu-sama while he was alive, but you have grown long past your prime."

With that, he raised one arm towards the reanimation, prepared to instruct him to attack once more.

The Sandaime instead glanced towards Sai, "listen, Operative Fourteen. Sai," he began, "can you continue flying?"

"Yes," Sai said quickly.

"Then I want you to find someone…"

ooooo

As B leapt back to nurse his bleeding arm, sand rushed forward around him. Gyuki's tentacles slowly disappeared and he landed roughly in the swirling brown sea. The sand continued in front of him and immediately began to wrap around the dark-skinned, green-haired girl. A few meters away, the bottom half of her body, which B had slashed right through, was beginning to disintegrate and return to her form to perform the Edo Tensei's regeneration.

But the sand was faster, and it enveloped her before the rest of her body could reform. With that, B pushed himself back up on his uninjured arm and fumbled in his pouch for a seal. Pulling the strip of paper out, he ran forward along with the sand and managed to slam the seal onto the base of her sand-wrapped body.

Once it was set, he promptly began to shove chakra into it, trying to control its flow just as Jiraiya had taught him. Behind him, Gaara was approaching quickly, another seal prepared in his hand in case B ruined his. Luckily, Jiraiya had taught them well.

But he still felt a twinge of sadness when he looked up at her grinning face. He pushed it down as best as he could and turned to his combat partner.

"Done, yeah!" B exclaimed, allowing Gaara to help him up. The other boy wasn't as exhausted as he was. They had agreed that since he was a Jinchuuriki and would therefore heal faster, B would take care of all the close-range fighting. He looked up at the reanimated Edo Tensei to see that she was grinning.

"Looks like you beat me," she said cheerfully, watching them both stand up on tired legs, "hey, listen. I don't really know exactly what you're doing here, but you guys seem all right. So I wish you luck, ok? I'm Lucky Seven Fuu, after all. My luck spreads." The confines of the seal began to spread around her chest, slowing reaching upwards.

"We thank you for all you help," Gaara told her sincerely. He struggled not to collapse under the weight of B's arm over his shoulder, "this battle could have been very difficult. You are skilled for someone so young." It was true. Since the ground was still wet, he only had the sand in his gourd at his disposal, but even with only that, he was still a Kazekage. She had fought well.

"Nah," she grinned, "it's just that this Edo Tensei thing gives me an advantage. I wouldn't have been able to stand up to you two if I was alive," she looked down and watched as the black seal markings began to spread to her collarbone, "so this thing will seal me away?"

"Yes," Gaara replied, "however, your bijuu will eventually break out of the seal. We will have to come back to retrieve it."

"Well, this was nice. I mean, I know we were fighting to the death and all, but I've never met other Jinchuuriki before," she turned to B, "thanks for teaching me that enka stuff, it was fun. I mean, I barely had this much fun when I was alive," she laughed, but it wasn't as full as it had been before. Gaara realized that she had led the same type of life as the other Jinchuuriki, no matter how lucky she was.

"It is the cruel fate of a Jinchuuriki to be isolated," the Suna boy said grimly, "people used to fear and hate us as well. But the opinions change eventually, and they realize that we are just as human." He thought back to his siblings, and how easily they had accepted the boy that they had spent most of their lives fearing. Deep down, people were very simple. All you had to do was face their preconceptions head on, and show them that you had something in common after all.

"He's right, kono yaro," B added. Unlike Gaara, he had grown up normally. However, once Gyuki was sealed into him, people had started looking again, and seeing something different. But his Brother had always been there to drop-kick the living daylights out of anything that tried to look at him the wrong way, and that had been enough.

He slowly straightened and let go of Gaara, wincing at the pain that shot through his arm. At the last moment, they had decided that he would go right in to tear her apart mostly-transformed, and then the sand would capture her until she was sealed. It had been the same strategy used against the reanimated Yondaime Kazekage, and it had worked. However, he had fallen prey to her last Bug Bite, and his arm had one large gash over the bicep.

"I'm glad for you," Fuu replied, "it wasn't too hard for me either. I had my baby sister and this really nice oba-san who took us in and cared for us, and we would all play tag together. I tried not to be too much trouble, so she and my younger sister were really all I needed," she looked across at the two of them and gave them one last smile, "goodbye, Gaara-san, and Kumo's Killer B. I hope you'll remember me, kono yaro, baka yaro!" With that, the black lines spread across the rest of her face, and the life fled from her eyes.

B stood in silence for a little while, gripping his bleeding arm. Then he turned to Gaara, "she was cool, yeah."

_Don't get too caught up, _Gyuki grumbled from inside his head, _she was too young for you anyway. _

_Shut up, baka yaro, _B replied affectionately.

The red-haired boy nodded in response, "she was. But we must continue on our mission, and your arm does not seem well."

"It'll be fine in an hour, kono yaro," he stretched the arm in front of him and tried to flex the muscles, before wincing in pain.

Gaara sighed, "we should clean your arm. Tsunade-sama doesn't perform very well when faced with blood," just as he began to reach into his pack for a bottle of water to wash his partner's arm, he felt a drop on his cheek.

B reached up and touched his head, feeling a spot of dampness, "oh no, kono yaro."

"This is not good," the boy quickly tied up his pack again, and the sand began to rise around him. He raised his arms and quickly commanded every last grain to swirl towards him, frowning at the small quantity stained red with B's blood. The sand filtered back into his gourd through the top, until not a speck of it was outside. Then he swung it off his shoulder and slammed the stopper into its opening. Even as he did that, more drops of water began to fall down.

"Pein has probably been taken down," he commented, swinging the gourd onto his back again, "and we both know what this means…"

"You're useless, baka yaro," B replied tactfully.

Around them, the ever-present rain of Ame began to fall. It escalated at a surprising rate, going from a small drizzle to a soaking shower in mere seconds. The grey clouds covering the sky were finally beginning to empty themselves.

"That's probably true," Gaara sighed, "my wet sand is not nearly as strong, and the ground is too wet to gather more. But on the other hand, at least it will wash the blood from your arm." The rain was so forceful that there were already red stains near B's feet, and his arm was clean but for the centre of the gash.

He looked around the area in front of the gates, noting that the area was still empty. However, there were faint sounds of footsteps beginning in the distance. It seemed that the guards that Konan had sent away were coming to 'collect their bodies' as they had been instructed. Directly in front of them was the guardhouse that the gatekeepers used to man, and to the left of the building was the road that led to the civilian market area. According to the map, the closest way to the tower was down that road for a kilometer and then left, through the irrigation system.

Gaara pushed his flattened wet hair off his forehead and tried not to wince at the heaviness of his water-logged Suna robes, "you should go on ahead, B-san," he advised, "do you know the way?"

"Yeah," B nodded. He was in the process of walking around and collecting his swords, which had been scattered in their fight. He picked up the last one and slid it into the sheath behind his back, "what about you, kono yaro?"

"I will catch up behind you. I travel slower due to my gourd, but I know that you travel almost as fast as Yugito-san. I do not want to hold you back," he replied, "and you will be much more useful to them at this point," indeed his sand armor was beginning to melt from the weight of the water. He sent another stream of chakra into them and sent the layer on his face, neck, and hands away. Hopefully everything else would remain dry under his thick clothing.

"You sure?" B frowned. He seemed a little hesitant at leaving his partner behind, even though it was probably for the best.

"B-san, while I may not be able to fight against their kage-level Edo Tensei anymore, the ordinary shinobi of Ame are still no match for me, even with wet sand," he explained tiredly, "go on. If I do not find you, I will go to the northern borders and wait for Jiraiya-san's messenger toads," he narrowed his eyes, "our mission here comes first."

B nodded firmly and began to run off towards the tower under the pouring rain.

ooooo

Kakashi smiled under his mask as he shunshined in time for his tired student to fall onto his back. He straightened, carrying Naruto, and turned to Shizune.

"Naruto was going towards the body," he pointed out, "I think he was trying to remove those chakra receivers."

"I'll do that," Shizune said quickly. She placed Yamato's unconscious form on the ground, and knelt beside the unmoving body of Deva Pein to dislodge the chakra receivers in his chest, wincing as each one came out dripping with blood. Once she had finished pulling out all the black rods, she turned back to Kakashi, "it's done."

"It seems that our part is over, then," the masked jonin turned his head slightly to see that Naruto had closed his eyes, apparently exhausted, "Naru-kun seems to have defeated the Rinnegan, and he didn't even need backup from Yugito and Utakata. I think we should let him sleep for a while, he's earned it."

"He sure has," Shizune smiled warmly and stood up, "Naruto-kun looks adorable while he's sleeping. Would you like to trade, Kakashi-san? Yamato-san _is_ rather heavy..."

"No way," Kakashi told her, "you offered to carry him, so you can continue to suffer." He smiled playfully, and then sobered, "but we should move quickly. The sooner we get back to Konoha, the better."

"Konoha…ramen…" Naruto muttered, drooling a small puddle into his shoulder along with the words. Kakashi sighed and wondered if maybe he should have taken Shizune up on her offer.

"Right," Shizune picked up Yamato and straightened, "Naruto-kun doesn't seem badly injured, so I'll save my chakra for the others."

At that moment, they both noticed a shadow pass over them. Kakashi looked up immediately to see that there was a large, white bird hovering above. He moved quickly to stand near Shizune. But his eyes widened in recognition when the bird grew closer.

"That's…"

"Sai-kun, isn't it?" Shizune finished, "isn't he on your genin team, Kakashi-san?"

"Yes, he is. But why is he here…" Kakashi looked on as the bird landed in front of them, claws digging into the wet ground. A tired-looking Sai slid off its back. Kakashi's eyes widened as he looked at the boy who had been with him on Team Seven for so long.

"No!" He wailed, "Gai has gotten to him! I'm sorry Sai, I should have tried harder to protect you…" he watched as the pale boy stood in front of them, dressed in Maito Gai's signature green tights.

"Not to worry, Kakashi-san," Sai gave him a bland smile, "they are very comfortable!"

At that, Kakashi sobered, "why are you here, Sai? Foreign shinobi are not permitted entry to this village."

"I know," the pale boy nodded, "I had thought that would be an issue. However, there seems to be only a few others out in the open right now, so I wasn't caught, and it was easy to find you. I just looked out for any movement."

"Find me?" The jonin frowned, "why were you looking for me? I'm currently on a classified mission."

"Hokage-sama sent me to get you," Sai replied, "I believe it is an emergency," he stroked the large ink bird with one hand, "I am to bring you back by flight."

"Emergency? What is it?" Shizune asked sharply.

"I am not sure if she has clearance…" Sai faltered.

"She's on the mission with me," Kakashi clarified, "I permit her to hear," he glanced to the side to see that Naruto had woken up, and was tiredly peering out at Sai while clinging to him.

"Sai?..." He yawned, "are we back already? That was fast…"

"What is the emergency?" Kakashi asked, "we cannot simply leave without telling…our teammates."

The pale boy cocked his head to one side, "Team Sakura has been attacked, and the Hokage has requested you in particular to provide backup. I believe it is because the opponents are members of an organization called the Akatsuki."

At that, Kakashi froze, and Naruto shot awake and fell of his back with a small thud. The blond boy quickly scrambled to his feet, "which ones, Sai?" He quickly wiped the tiredness from his eyes.

"I only recognize one of them from the bingo books," Sai replied, "Hoshigaki Kisame. Sakura-taicho and Gai-san are fighting him. The other is not in the bingo book, but Sakura's message to the Hokage seemed to state that he is 'Uchiha Madara', although it could be just a keyword."

There was silence. Shizune looked worriedly towards Kakashi, whose revealed eye was wide.

"Why?" Naruto demanded, "why are they attacking Sakura-chan's team?" His fists were clenched with newfound energy.

"They seem to want Sasuke-kun," Sai told him, "Sasuke-kun is refusing to go, and Hokage-sama arrived in time to save him, but he did not seem to happy about his prospects. I do not fully understand, but he is facing a person who resembles the previous Tsuchikage."

"Edo Tensei…" Kakashi muttered. He turned towards Shizune, "Shizune, take Tenzou and Naruto and find Tsunade-sama. Tell her where I've gone."

"Where _we've _gone," Naruto stated, "I have to go save Sasuke!" He immediately ran towards Sai's ink bird and swung one leg over its back, "come on, Sai, sensei! We have no time to waste!"

"Is that wise?" Shizune wondered, "he's tired…"

"There's no stopping him when he's like that," Kakashi told her. He followed his student onto the back of Sai's ink bird and waved at Shizune, "you know the way, right?"

"I do," Shizune confirmed. She and her shishou had poured over the maps during their stay in Sugi no Sato.

"Then we'll be off," Kakashi moved back to make room for Sai at the front of the ink bird, "take care of my kohai, I would suggest expending the chakra needed to wake him up so that you can travel faster. If you cannot find them, go back out the way we came in and head to Sugi no Sato. The others will exit through the northern side and meet you there."

Shizune nodded, "be careful, Kakashi-san. This is Uchiha Madara after all. Tsunade-sama has mentioned him before, he is incredibly strong," she reached into her pack and withdrew a solider pill, "Naruto-kun!" She tossed the pill to him, "don't overdo it. You've just come out of a very tiring battle and there's only so much a person's body can handle."

Naruto deftly caught the soldier pill and bit down on it, feeling some of his tiredness wash away. As the bird lifted off the ground, he gave her a thumbs-up and a determined look.

"We'll save Sasuke-teme and Sakura-chan, believe it!"

At that, Shizune couldn't help but smile. What Kakashi had said before was true; somehow, you couldn't help but feel safe around the boy. Holding Yamato over one shoulder, she watched the ink bird rise up into the sky as the rain of Ame began to pour down on them once again.

ooooo

"Finally!" Tsunade grunted, "I was getting tired of those stupid grey walls."

"_You _were getting tired?" Orochimaru asked softly from where he stood in front of her. Jiraiya had already exited and had turned back to glare at him when he didn't follow him out. Tsunade waited impatiently behind him holding Nagato.

Instead of moving forward, the snake sannin hesitantly looked out and swiveled his head around, taking in the world outside the tower. The sky of Ame was as grey as he remembered it. 'Grey' seemed to be the perfect word to describe the entire village, really. The buildings in the civilian area were grey, the shinobi apartments were grey, the streets were grey, and the sky was grey. For some reason, the rain seemed to have stopped, and the ground outside was just beginning to dry.

That was strange. Pein-sama had once said that the rain of Ame never stopped.

Outside this section of the tower, the giant pipes of the irrigation systems rose nearby. Usually, they would be over-flowing, but since the rain was gone, they barely dripped with leftover water. Orochimaru slowly put one sandaled foot outside the tower building, watching in fascination as it sunk slightly into the damp ground.

"Move it, teme. We don't time to be waiting for you," Jiraiya snapped.

Orochimaru wordlessly stepped outside, and headed to where he was standing, still a little silent. Seeing that, the toad sage immediately began to launch into speech.

Tsunade stepped out behind him, noting that the guards were still down with her senbon in their necks. They had spent almost two hours finding Nagato and bringing him out, and the thin man was still held carefully in her arms. His concentric eyes were focused on where his sensei was walking ahead, and Tsunade took that as a good sign.

In front of her, Jiraiya and Orochimaru had continued bickering after their momentary silence, and she wasn't sure whether to be exasperated or amused. But she settled for amused, because they were acting exactly as they had at the age of fifteen, when Jiraiya was perverted and foolish, Orochimaru was cynical but still innocent, and Tsunade was the down-to-earth voice of logic between them.

"…and then you just _left _me there! With a group of Iwa-nin!" Jiraiya went on. He seemed to be determined to stir up every last instance where Orochimaru had proved himself to be a complete and utter bastard, and his arms illustrated his frustration by waving around in the air as they walked.

"Well _someone _needed to play distraction," Orochimaru replied, looking slightly irritated, "I recall that I _returned _a few minutes later, just in time to save your neck, at that."

"Ah, and of course that's because you cared from the very depths of your cruel, bitter heart, and would have languished in silence if one of your precious teammates had died, and not because Hiruzen-sensei would have been upset with you if you left me behind and wouldn't have given you your field promotion," Jiraiya drawled, "how lovely it was to have such a caring and admirable teammate in my squad."

"Keep your purple prose to your perverted books, _Jiraiya,_" Orochimaru said between gritted teeth, "it was not solely because of what our sensei told me. If you died I wouldn't have to add an entire extra page to the report."

"Right, like you couldn't write a ten-page report in under half an hour," the toad sage grumbled, "and it was the thought that counted. The thought that you were _perfectly fine _leaving your teammate to the dogs! And now you expect us to trust you again?"

"What does that have to do with something that happened over thirty years ago?" Tsunade wondered. Sometimes it seemed like her teammates went for each other's necks just for the sake of it. This really wasn't necessary when they were in the middle of enemy land trying to kidnap a village leader.

Jiraiya's toad was still in the small lake within the irrigation pipe system, and would transport them to another body of water in the northern side of the village. Hopefully that would get them away from Konan, although it was unlikely. But she was Jiraiya's student and he knew all about her abilities, so she didn't pose a great threat.

She shifted Nagato into a more comfortable position considered her teammate's words while they walked towards the pipes. Trust Orochimaru? Maybe after another forty years, if ever. She had been there when their sensei had called to tell them that their teammate had become a missing-nin. At first she and Jiraiya had gone restlessly searching for him, trying to bring him back and make him pay for his 'experiments'.

They thought that he was simply misguided, or something equally ridiculous. After all, Orochimaru was nothing if not a genius, and geniuses tended to push the boundaries sometimes. They thought that if they could drag him back and throw him in the T and I cells for a few years to make him think about what he had done, he would turn out all right and they could be the Sannin once more.

But the war had taught them both many things. She had been struck down by the deaths of Dan and Nawaki, and a certain pale missing-nin had become the farthest thing from her mind. Jiraiya had trudged forward even then, carefully helping her pack her things and then leaving once again to track down the person he had still thought of as their teammate. But when little Rin had died, he had come back to help his student mourn her. When Minato himself had died, his blind optimism had taken a heavy blow, and he had finally decided that Orochimaru was too far-gone.

Tsunade's expression hardened. It had been her decision to let him out of the cell, and he was now her responsibility. As such, she would have to find something to do with him. Maybe she could put his report-writing skills to good use and give him to the Hokage to turn him into Konoha's Number One Paperwork Ninja. That was probably punishment enough for someone like him. Hiruzen-sensei would be ecstatic, and not just because Orochimaru was probably more competent than half the paper-pushes under his command.

After all, no matter how far he fell, their sensei had never stopped loving his student.

"I never said anything about trusting me," the snake sannin hissed in reply, "throw me in prison for a few years. I've waited five years, I can wait longer." He crossed his arms over his white shirt and allowed his long hair to fall into his face.

"So that when you're released, you can return to another one of your bases and continue your research? Unlikely," Tsunade told him truthfully. She ducked below a pipe that ran overhead and winced when she stepped into a puddle of squishy mud. In her arms, Nagato was disturbingly light. Her iryounin senses were yelling at her to give him a ration bar, but he wouldn't be able to eat while paralyzed.

Orochimaru merely gritted his teeth in reply and ignored Jiraiya's smirks. The weight of having at most a hundredth of his previous abilities was finally settling down on him, practically digging into his shoulders. It was not a pleasant feeling.

They walked on for another fifteen minutes in silence. The pace Jiraiya set was slower than usual, accounting for Orochimaru's slower speed and the extra weight in Tsunade's arms, although she would protest that the thin man probably weighed half as much as he should.

Finally they saw the small pond from which she and Jiraiya had entered. The pipes towered overhead, occasionally letting drips of water fall onto their heads, and the area was eerily quiet. The pond itself was settled in a small crater in the ground that had accumulated rainwater.

"Oh good," Jiraiya sighed, "my toad should be here in a few minutes. I was worried that Konan-chan would show up before then-"

"_Looks like I made it in time."_

Hearing the strange voice behind them, all three sannin turned around swiftly. Tsunade, who had been at the back, was closest as some sort of leafy _creature_ began to emerge from the ground. She watched grimly as the creature-person rose from the ground, and the two giant leaves parted to reveal a humanoid face. Noting the Akatsuki cloak he was wearing, she stepped back behind Jiraiya, refusing to let go of Nagato after they had gone to such lengths to take him.

"Zetsu," Orochimaru hissed, taking a step back and tightening his grip on Kusanagi. He glanced sideways at Jiraiya, "this one knows about Tobi's Sharingan, but I do not know his abilities."

"Got it," Jiraiya stepped forwards, his long white hair prickling as the needles stood out, "I'll take him down while we wait," he narrowed his eyes at the plant-like Akatsuki member, "oi Aloe Vera, care to run while you have the chance? Even if you don't, I need to blow off steam from talking to the snake here for an entire hour."

"_You _were the one talking," Orochimaru muttered, "I was perfectly content to remain silent," he crossed his arms, but still remained safely behind Tsunade.

"**Why is it always Aloe Vera?"**

Jiraiya jumped slightly in surprise a little as a different voice came out of the same form. It was then that he noticed the black half of the person's face was grinning, while the white half was not. Slowly, he pulled a kunai out of his pouch, "what exactly are you?" He demanded.

"_You have Pein-sama," _Zetsu commented, looking almost completely at ease. He turned to the figure lying limp in Tsunade's arms, _"I came to see him after I saw his Paths destroyed. I heard voices."_

"Damn it Jiraiya! This wouldn't have happened if you hadn't felt the need to bicker," Tsunade snapped at him. They had all thought it was safe to talk because the guards were knocked out, and Orochimaru didn't hesitate to 'not-kill' the ones they came across.

"Blame the snake," the toad sage muttered. He turned back to Zetsu, "two of the Sannin are here, and we can take any Akatsuki member. Are you going to go, or are you willing to die here?" His hair spiked around him threateningly.

Zetsu merely reached into his Akatsuki cloak with one hand. The two of them watched uncertainly as he drew out a small scroll. The white side of his face was still smiling slightly, while the black half was outright grinning.

As Orochimaru saw the scroll, he suddenly went very still. His purple-lined eyed widened and he looked around frantically, as if searching for an escape route. But behind them was the wide pond with its clear water, and he no longer had the ability to walk on top of it. To both sides were more pipes, and Tsunade would be able to easily catch him if he tried to run. It seemed that fate really wanted him to die somehow. He gritted his teeth and watched in dread as Zetsu unraveled the scroll.

Jiraiya immediately recognized the markings on the scroll. The circular base, the spiraled symbols...

"Oh hell no!" He yelled, throwing the kunai in his hand and preparing to follow it up with a katon jutsu. There was no _way _they were facing one of those again, especially not after the grim possibilities that Orochimaru had previously alluded to. He spared a quick glance backward to see that the snake had gone even paler than usual, and the purple markings contrasted sharply around his wide eyes. So this could be it…

Tsunade didn't recognize the markings, but she recognized the momentary alarm in her teammate's eyes. She shifted Nagato onto a one-handed fireman hold, prepared to drop him and help Jiraiya in case things went out of hand.

But Zetsu dodged the kunai that was thrown at him with amazing speed and turned to the snake sannin, who was still behind Tsunade, "_we must thank you in advance, seeing as you will die with the rest of them."_

"**You were helpful."**

"_But not useful anymore. We probably know far more than you now."_

Orochimaru narrowed his eyes and tried to keep down the shiver that threatened to run through him, "so you were the one that activated them. You control the Edo Tensei that Pein-sama brought."

"**Yes."**

White Zetsu stroked the paper of the scroll with almost loving care, "_Pein-sama did not give him to you. I doubt he knew of him."_

Jiraiya frowned and stopped mid-seal, "Nagato did not know of the Edo Tensei? But…"

"_He knows of some."_

"**But not this one."**

With that, Orochimaru realized that he was going to die. He didn't even think he'd last long enough to be killed by the reanimation. His former teammates would murder him first.

Just as Jiraiya began to continue the seals for a katon jutsu, Zetsu reached down and slammed his hand in the middle of the circular base.

"Kuchiose: Edo Tensei."

The three Sannin looked on as a small cloud of chakra smoke filled the area around the paper. Behind the smoke, Zetsu slowly began to melt into the earth. As the small cloud cleared, it revealed a tall figure standing on top of the summoning scroll.

"_His commands are to take Nagato and kill the three of you, but he has more freedom than most," _White Zetsu replied, slowly sliding lower into the ground_. _He watched amusedly as Jiraiya quickly turned to check for his toad, "_I've taken the liberty of getting rid of your transportation."_

"**Don't die too quickly."**

Jiraiya hissed and threw another kunai at his face, afraid to approach too closely in case the Edo Tensei attacked. Zetsu evaded the blade and continued to give them his disturbing grin even as the tips of his leaves disappeared. With that, the three Sannin turned to the reanimation.

Over a set of traditional dark-violet karategi, he wore the red armor of the First War, marking him as a relic from that almost ancient time. His hair was as long as it had been when he was alive, when long hair had been common of clan heirs and otherwise strong shinobi. It fell over one eye, but left enough translucency to allow his irises to shine through. Senju Tsunade froze when she looked into the Sharingan.

"Is he?…" she breathed, still slightly shocked. The last time she had laid eyes on this person…she vaguely remembered crossing his path while walking down the streets of Konoha with her grandfather.

"Tobi brought him to me a while ago," Orochimaru began, "his cells were in a small bottle with a label."

"Orochimaru…" Jiraiya hissed. He turned to look at his pale teammate, who was standing in silence as the final chakra clouds around the Edo Tensei cleared, leaving no doubt as to the reanimation's identity.

"Uchiha Madara," the snake sannin said quietly.

The Sannin barely noticed when it began to rain.

**ooooo**

**The rain here is used to emphasize exactly when everything is happening (at once), because there won't be as many scene breaks from now on.**

**Note: In the legend that the Sannin are based on, the snake is stronger than the toad, the toad is stronger than the slug, and the slug is stronger than the snake. Of course, this isn't limited to battle-strength. **

**So I (MKani) am on a one hour train ride home without wifi, and decided to type this up because I was bored. And procrastinating on my history IA. What does it say when I'm more interested in the fictional background of my story than I am about actual history? Please tell me I'm not alone here...**

**Here's some general background (a mix of both canon and fanon that this fic uses):**

**First Shinobi War: Konoha vs. Iwa, started long after Senju Hashirama became Hokage. The student of the Shodai Tsuchikage, Muu, and his own student Ohnoki are told by Madara that 'Konoha will always be stronger' and a peace treaty is not possible. Sometime here, Hashirama and Madara 'killed each other', the Shodai Tsuchikage, Senju Itama, and Senju Kawarama died in battle, ****and the Nidaime Hokage sacrificed himself for his team and nominated his student 'Saru' to succeed him in place of Danzo. Ended by an armistice signed by the Sandaime Hokage and the Nidaime Tsuchikage. **

**Second Shinobi War: involved practically all the major villages. Kishimoto does not give us any hints here, but this was the war where the Sannin got their name and Ame was destroyed. Probably happened a long time after the first war. Sometime during this war, Konoha forces took down the Sandaime Raikage after he fought them for three days, and A became the next Raikage. It was ended by the Shodai Hokage's son (Tsunade's father) somehow, and he died while fighting. Tsunade became the last Senju alive, and inherited Hashirama's iryouninjutsu. **

**Third Shinobi War: involved Iwa, Kumo, and Konoha (although Iwa was fighting some different war with Kiri as well). Iwa was sending Kumo a peace offering of a suitable jinchuuriki for their newly captured bijuu, and Konoha was worried about the 'balance of power'. So they sent a team led by Hatake Sakumo to kill the potential jinchuuriki and make it look like Iwa did it (sabotage), therefore preventing the alliance. However, Sakumo sacrificed the mission in order to save his teammates, and exposed Konoha. (This is why the Nidaime Tsuchikage hates the Sandaime Hokage and Konoha in general). Shortly after this, Sakumo killed himself so that his son would not be burdened by his actions, and the Nidaime Tsuchikage fought the Mizukage to death with Ohnoki succeeding him. This was also presumably when Yagura started his rule over the Bloody Mist controlled by Madara. It ended in Konoha's favor with Namikaze Minato's victory at Kannabi Bridge, and he was made Hokage shortly after. **

**My ANs are terribly boring... INK will be back for the next one.**

**On that note, INK has writer's block. Writing a good omake should bring her back up. Omake ideas, anyone?**

**Reviews would be nice (^^)**


	43. Obito Gaiden: The Days of Team Minato

**Chapter 42 - Obito Gaiden:**

_**Age 9 – Sensei's Sensei**_

One year before the beginning of the Third Shinobi War, five figures were standing in training ground eleven. One was a small brown haired girl who had been specializing as an iryounin even in the academy. Another was an Uchiha boy who had yet to activate his Sharingan. Beside him was a white-haired Hatake prodigy who had graduated the academy at the age of six. Standing before them was a blond man who would one day become a legend; but for now he was only a rather exceptional jonin of Konoha. The four of them made up Team Minato.

The fifth person, however, was standing beside Minato and looking at the three kids with a wide grin on his face.

"Minato-sensei?" Nohara Rin spoke up, "who's he?"

Namikaze Minato groaned. That was just _not _something you asked around this person. "He's my sensei, Ji-"

Before he could even complete the sentence, the man standing beside him put one palm forward in a frankly _ridiculous _pose, allowing long white hair to spread down the back of his jonin flak jacket.

"Strong against shinobi yet weak against women," he began in a low voice that he probably assumed sounded dramatic, "the sage of Mount Myoboku and the Legendary Toad Sannin, Jiraiya-sama!"

"Please, sensei, I didn't agree to let you meet my students so that you could traumatize them," Minato regarded at the white-haired man with a defeated look.

"Calm down, kid. They need to know who they're respecting," Jiraiya took the opportunity to forcefully ruffle his former student's yellow hair, while the two new genin and one chunin looked shocked that _anyone _could act that playfully around the Great Namikaze Minato.

"So these are your students?" He regarded each of the three with an analyzing eye, "go on, then, introduce yourselves. Which one of you is Obito? That's the one Minato complains about the most." The blond man's stiffened under his hand.

The Uchiha boy standing beside Rin reddened immediately, "I'm just accidently prone!" He yelled, "It's not my fault! Kakashi rigged all my paper bombs, I swear!" His voice was still high and slightly shrill. On Rin's other side, the white-haired boy wearing the mask smiled slightly in satisfaction.

Jiraiya grinned, "hah! I like this one already," he turned to Rin, "and who's the pretty girl?"

Rin blushed at the compliment, "my name is Nohara Rin. It's very nice to meet you, Jiraiya-sama."

"Please don't call him that. It'll go to his head," Minato muttered.

"My name is Hatake Kakashi," the masked boy offered. He had heard of the Sannin before, and had been waiting for the day their sensei would introduce them to his own sensei. The third Sannin had defected a short while ago, but the other two were still known as some of the strongest shinobi around.

"Interesting little things," Jiraiya declared in approval, "although there's another reason I wanted to see you today, Minato-kun. Look," he pulled a small orange paperback out of his flak jacket, "I brought you a special copy of my new unreleased book," he shoved the book into his student's hands.

At that, Minato smiled warmly. It had only been a month since Jiraiya had brought him his very first published book, 'The Tales of a Gutsy Ninja'. At first, he had been rather suspicious on what his perverted sensei could possibly write. But surprisingly, the story had captivated him. It had been full of adventure and bravery and, well, _guts, _the very picture of the life of a shinobi_. _It was been such an enjoyable read that Minato had readily encouraged his sensei to continue with his writing, even though the book hadn't sold very well.

"Thank you sensei," he said. He turned to the three students in front of him, "Jiraiya-sensei is a very capable writer," he explained proudly, "he can capture stories so beautifully. I must get you all to read his first book one day, it's a true masterpiece." He was perfectly fine allowing _this _to get to his sensei's head, the Super Pervert deserved it.

"Wow, a writer?" Obito exclaimed, "that's awesome! I can't even write my reports good…"

"You can barely write at all, Obito," Kakashi muttered under his breath. He had spent many an hour attempting to decipher the boy's chicken scratch after their missions.

"What is your book about, Jiraiya-sama?" Rin asked curiously.

"I would say, but I wouldn't want to spoil it for Minato here," the toad sage replied, "let him read first."

With that, the three students looked to where their sensei had opened the book, and was reading over the first page. Only the first page. For some reason, his face had gone very red, especially around the cheeks.

"Jiraiya-sensei!" The blond man exclaimed, looking up from the book, "on the very _first page_-there are _children _around!"

"If they're old enough to kill people, they're old enough to read," Jiraiya maintained.

"Sensei this is very irresponsible of you!"

"Settle down, kid. I ran it through the publisher and they said they'd rate it eighteen plus. Accounting for shinobi years, your students qualify. They're, what, eleven? Twelve?"

"Nine!"

Without pause, Obito reached forward and pulled the book out of his sensei's hands while they argued. He flipped the book open to the much talked-about first page and began reading. Kakashi and Rin peered over his shoulder, all interested to read the book written by the Legendary Toad Sannin.

After skimming the page, Obito blinked, "wow, can people actually _do _that?" He wondered.

"Not physiologically, no," Rin said matter-of-factly while she peered over at the writing. She had spent the last two years specializing in iryounin-jutsu, and she was sure that _wasn't _possible, "but it's literary license, isn't it?"

"I'm a chunin, and that means I'm technically an adult," Kakashi decided. He reached over Obito's shoulder to turn the page, "it's _you two _that aren't supposed to be reading this."

"The subject is kind of…strange, and I don't see why they're doing those things, but the prose flows well," Rin commented thoughtfully, "I can see why Minato-sensei likes this; Jiraiya-sama is a good author."

"I can see that too…" Obito trailed, "I didn't think reading could actually be interesting."

"Idiot. All reading is interesting because it's educational," Kakashi spoke up as he finished the paragraph.

Before either of them could continue, one Namikaze Minato plucked the book out of their hands. For the first time since they had become part of his team, he was looking rather irritated.

Nearby, the 'Legendary Jiraiya-sama' was nursing a bump on his head.

"I'm not letting you near my students ever again," Minato told him carefully, "it's bad enough that children are being traumatized by the war, you don't need to add other _types_ of trauma!"

The toad sage rubbed his head sheepishly, "well, there's still one more thing I wanted to give you…"

"I'm not reading any more of your books!"

"No, no, you'll like this," he insisted. Jiraiya reached back into his haori, and Minato's three students looked on curiously as he drew out a strangely shaped kunai.

"Here," he presented it to Minato with a grin, "before I left for my reconnaissance work in Iwa, you told me about the ideas you had for specialized kunai that would work well with your new jutsu, so I stopped at Iou-san's place on the way back to have them made for you." Jiraiya twirled the kunai in his finger, allowing them to see the three prongs on all sides, and the wide handle that was perfect to wrap seals around.

At that, Minato immediately softened and accepted the kunai almost reverently, "Oh, wow, Jiraiya-sensei…it's perfect. Thank you," he said, suddenly very sincere. His students watched in confusion as all his anger melted away.

"You're very welcome, boy," Jiraiya told him with a smile, "now why don't you try that out."

"I would, but I have to train my team right now," Minato sighed distractedly, turning the three-pronged kunai in his hands, "they need to be prepared for the exams, and that means they need to get stronger…"

"Oh don't worry about that," the toad sage said lightly, "you can leave them to me. I'll make sure they go through a thorough training session!"

"You would? I cannot thank you enough, sensei," Minato said absently, captivated by the weapon, "with this, I no longer need to expend chakra laying the seals during a fight. In fact, if I mark the ground beforehand…" he walked away from the training grounds, mind filled with possibilities. One could say that this was the moment that the Yellow Flash had been born.

Meanwhile, the Legendary Jiraiya-sama turned to the three nine-year-olds with a gleeful look, "alright, kids," he began, "I really missed doing this since my own genin team was promoted. What would you three like to learn today?..."

_**Age 10 – War**_

Iwa declared war on the day after Obito's tenth birthday.

It was sobering news, but no surprise. Ever since Jiraiya-sama had returned all those years ago with important information about a treaty attempt between Iwa and Kumo, Konoha had expected conflict. There had already been conflict, in fact, and this declaration was simply a formality.

Following the announcement, most of the strongest jonin within the village were promptly summoned to the Konoha-Iwa frontlines. Obito had been dreading the time when they would hear that their sensei had been called, and it came sooner than they expected. Merely three days after the war had been declared, Namikaze Minato and most other capable jonin-sensei were temporarily relieved of their teaching duties.

They heard the reports before leaving for training early in the morning. Sensei hadn't joined them that day because he had been at the jonin meeting with the Hokage, so they were sparring by themselves. Kakashi was working as hard as usual even through his own problems, but his teammates didn't have their hearts in the training.

When Rin's absentminded fumble at a dodge had him delivering a crushing kick to the side, he stopped. "We're done," he declared, stepping back and allowing her to slowly get to her feet while healing her bruise, "we can't train while you're like this."

"Oh yeah! Bring it, Kakashi!" Obito yelled, immediately stepping in front of him in the Uchiha taijutsu stance, "I'll kick your butt today!"

Kakashi had been acting very strangely over the past few days. Through the chain of rumors, they heard that it had something to do with the mission his father had just come back from, and that it was connected to the war. Kakashi had been avoiding him, choosing to leave his house early in the morning and amble around until he went back late at night.

"You're not focused either," Kakashi told him evenly, "you'll do worse than her."

"Kakashi's right," Rin sighed, laying a hand on Obito's shoulder, "a shinobi must not fight when emotions cloud his judgment."

"It's irrational to be worried about Minato-sensei," the Hatake boy spoke up, bringing up the topic that had hung over them, "he's probably the strongest jonin in the village whenever the two Sannin are away."

"I know. I've never seen Minato-sensei lose to _anyone. _There isn't a single shinobi in all of Iwa who could take down our sensei," she said confidently, "but that only means that they'll put him against the strongest they have."

"Yeah," Obito said, "and what if it takes _years _for him to get back?"

"Then train harder so that they'll send us with him as a four man squad," Kakashi suggested, "either way, worrying isn't going to do any good, and it's just getting in the way."

"We're worrying because we care about sensei, unlike you," Obito growled, "all you want from him is a promotions consideration so you can be the stupid youngest jonin ever."

Rin's hand on his shoulder tightened in warning. She really wasn't in the mood to try and separate one of their fights.

"You're sitting around worrying about him while I'm training so that I can _join _him, who's doing him more good, _Obito_?" Kakashi replied. He walked back into a tree that shaded him from the morning sun, and sat down with his back to it. His two teammates followed him, sitting down on the cool grass.

"We're not the only ones with emotions clouding our judgment," Rin told him, "you've been avoiding your house, I think. I heard from Anko-chan that she saw you in the training grounds at ten last night. Our training ends at three, did you even eat supper?" She frowned as her iryounin senses came back into play.

"Yeah, Hatake-san sent a call to the Uchiha police at nine cause he thought you'd be in the civilian districts," Obito added, "they had to search for you for an entire hour before he called it off."

"You shouldn't involve yourselves in other people's business," he replied evenly, "you should focus on getting stronger so you don't hold your teammates back."

And there it was. Obito clenched his teeth, infuriated. He _always _somehow managed to slip in that he was holding him back, that if stupid _Obito _who couldn't activate his own _bloodline _weren't on his team, he'd be Hokage by now or something.

"Oh yeah? Who's holding you down-"

"Stop, Obito," Rin interrupted, "Kakashi's being a little cold, but there's something going on with him and you know it," she whispered to him quietly, "let's at least try to be considerate, ok?" Recently, she had begun seeing her white-haired teammate in a new light. He was skilled and smart and a mystery, it was hard _not _to crush on him a little.

At that, Obito forced himself to quiet down. He didn't like Kakashi, but he wasn't heartless. If their teammate was having problems with his father, then they would wait until he was over it. He put a carefully constructed poker face on and whispered back, "fine."

Rin smiled, "Minato-sensei is leaving first thing tomorrow morning," she began in a forced cheer, "and we, his awesome students, are going to be there to see him off!"

ooooo

Obito went running across the streets of Konoha with one arm in his shirt and one chopstick still in his hand from where he had hastily gulped down breakfast. It was six in the morning, and sensei and the other jonin were scheduled to deport five minutes ago.

When he saw a familiar blond haired man and still standing near the gatehouse with his two teammates, his heart almost burst with joy.

"Obito!" Namikaze Minato smiled when he saw the Uchiha boy, "late as always!"

"I'm sorry!" Obito wailed, skidding to a stop a few feet in front of him, "this stupid cat ran up a pole and my something cousin something times removed who's a total crybaby made _me _get it down for him!"

Rin's laugh was a sweet, sweet sound. "Typical, always giving excuses," she giggled, "you're lucky that sensei's so fast, or he would've gone already!"

"A shinobi must always be on time," Kakashi admonished. But it was free of his usual intensity, and Obito took that to mean that they were in a truce because he had backed off the previous day.

"Our Obito does things his own way," their sensei told him lightly, "and we will just have to live with it." He was once again dressed in full jonin gear, and the pouches of his flak jacket were thick with tools and scrolls.

"Good luck sensei," Rin smiled up at him, "show those Iwa nin that Konoha can't be messed with!" her normally impeccable hair was a ruffled mess, and for once she didn't seem to care.

"He'd do that anyway," Kakashi said. His lips twitched under his mask in a slight smile, and only years of being around him permitted his teammates to see it. Seeing as he hadn't smiled once since his father had returned from his failed mission, he was really in a good mood.

"We'll come join you once we get stronger," Obito promised, "then we'll fight the Iwa nin as a team!"

"That's quite ambitious of you," Minato noted, "but I have no doubt that in a few years, you'll do just that."

"Sensei, you seem happy," Rin observed, "are you heading to the same lines as Kushina-san?"

A slight twinge of pink spread across their sensei's cheeks and he laughed nervously, "yes, actually. I suppose I'll get to see why exactly they've started calling her the Demon of Mercy. Who knows, by the time I get back, I might have an epic title of my own."

"Yeah," Rin agreed, "the only reason you don't have one already is because they haven't seen you in action yet."

"It'll be something awesome!" Obito exclaimed, "like: The Rock Slayer!" He proceeded to flex his lean biceps.

"He's not going to kill rocks, you idiot," Kakashi said airily.

"Ch, you know what I mean," the Uchiha boy glared back.

"Well, it's nice that you all came to see me off," Minato told them, "although I should be going. If I'm late, my chances of coming back with an epic title won't be so high. Rin, continue with your iryou-ninjutsu, you really do work miracles."

"I will, sensei," she promised, nodding furiously.

"Obito, don't worry so much about your Sharingan. It'll come one day," he went on. At Obito's nod, he continued, "Kakashi…one day you'll understand how important teamwork really is. Until then, don't be so hard on him, alright?" He gave the boy a knowing look. The temporary contentment fled from Kakashi's face as he realized that his sensei knew.

The three of them didn't see Namikaze Minato again for two years.

_**Age 13 – Gotta See, Gotta Know**_

"Obito, is there a reason why you adamantly insisted on having this onsen trip?"

Namikaze Minato, dressed in full jonin gear, sat by the edge of the water. He was looking on curiously at one of his students, who was soaking chin-deep in the far end with a rather conspiratorial look in his eyes. There was no one else in the water since it was so early in the day.

This was unusual. His students hadn't exactly been the best of friends since they had gotten involved in the war. The slight antagonism present had only increased over the years as Kakashi had grown more distant and Obito had become annoyed since he hadn't yet activated his bloodline. It wasn't common for them to spend any time together after missions. Considering that the war assured they were _on _missions almost more frequently than _off, _that wasn't too worrying. But to suddenly suggest a team onsen trip on the way back to Konoha?

Uchiha Obito merely grinned widely, "just come on in, sensei, the water's great! Why are you still dressed?" He waved his arms around for emphasis, causing small waves in the hot water. Even in the onsen, he kept his orange goggles on, and his black hair was plastered to his forehead.

"I think I'll keep my clothes on," Minato told him quietly, "I'm not sure if you've noticed, but Rin is watching us from over the wall." He had noticed the familiar brown-haired head at the top of wooden wall that separated the men's section from the women's as soon as he peered outside. He had a sneaking suspicion that she was waiting for Kakashi to join them, but this was really not like her. None of his students had inherited any of Jiraiya-sensei's perverted habits.

"Shhh!" Obito yelled. The boy waded over until he was closer to where his sensei was sitting, "Kakashi's going to be here soon," he said, as if it explained everything.

"…And you're going to help her do _spy on him_?" Minato raised an eyebrow, "is this some sort of revenge?" He had never really paid too much attention to his student's love lives – whatever loves lives thirteen-year-olds could have – because of various reasons.

Primarily, he had his own relationship to tend to, and he had long realized that he wasn't qualified to give advice on those matters. Secondly, there was a war going on, and his attention was usually directed elsewhere. But even a blind man could see Rin's feelings towards Kakashi, and Obito's feelings towards Rin. It made sleeping during missions rather awkward sometimes.

"No!" The Uchiha boy exclaimed, before settling back into his grin, "I'm going to see Kakashi's face!"

"I see," Minato nodded in understanding, "and that's why you suggested we visit an onsen after the mission? Because you think he'll take his mask off?" He had a vague suspicion why his student wore that mask, and he knew that it had been given to him by Sakumo-senpai many years ago.

"Yup!" Obito said proudly, "Rin didn't want to be left out, so I said she could look in as long as she waited until I was in the water. She's really good at drawing, you know. Better than me. She could draw him and then we could sell copies and get rich!"

"Ah? But she's going to see a lot more than his face…" Minato said, looking slightly amused. He turned to give Rin a small wave, and she quickly ducked down from where she had been peering out, balanced precariously on a stack of wooden crates, and leaning against the wall.

"Well yeah, but she's a medic," Obito told him matter-of-factly, "she's seen it all." He settled back against one edge of the water and leaned his elbows back against the stone.

Minato frowned, wondering if he should be trying harder to preserve his student's innocence. But it was true that she had begun training as a medic and was already operating on shinobi…he inwardly sighed and decided to simply observe. It would good for Kakashi. He needed to be pushed out of his comfort zone. Especially since his comfort zone was turning out to be assassination.

"Oh, here he comes," Obito said excitedly, seeing the shadow emerge from the other side of the curtain. Minato turned to see Kakashi slowly revealing a hand to push the curtain away. A bare arm, a hint of a bare leg, toweled waist, bare shoulders, a bare chest…and another towel that covered the lower half of his face.

He could almost feel the Uchiha boy's deflation behind him as he raised a hand to wave his student over.

"Minato-sensei," Kakashi greeted, stepping to the edge of the water where he was sitting, "are you not going to enter the water?"

"No," Minato replied lightly, balancing an elbow on his crossed legs, "I could be called away at any time due to our current situation with Kumo. I doubt they'd take the Yellow Flash very seriously if he arrived in a towel."

"But you'd still kick all their butts! Even if you were half-naked!" Obito declared.

"Even so, I'm supposed to keep up appearances," Minato replied, smiling, "I need to be as intimidating as the name suggests."

"Hehe, Yellow Flash," Obito grinned, "that's a funny name they started calling you, sensei…"

"It's better than 'Rock Slayer'," Kakashi muttered.

Minato rubbed his head sheepishly, "I didn't think of it, and I didn't want it either. But I'll gladly accept it if Kushina stops calling me the Yellow Flasher." The red-haired sprite hadn't given him any mercy on that point. Where others would say 'welcome home' when their lovers returned after missions, Kushina would call out 'Oi Yellow Flasher! You're back!', and usually loudly enough for the entire apartment compound to hear.

Kakashi shrugged slightly and slipped into the water, discarding the towel. Obito watched his face curiously, wondering if he would remove the face-towel too, but it was to no avail. After five minutes of watching Kakashi soak up the hot water in silence, his curiosity became too high.

"Kakashi," he began, "we're teammates, right?"

"I've noticed that, yes," the white-haired boy replied dryly.

"Teammates are supposed to have teamwork, right?"

"Our sensei might have mentioned that," he drawled, seeming extremely uninterested. It was no secret that Kakashi liked to do his missions solo, and thought that his teammates got in the way too often to be helped. Minato looked on at the exchange with an amused look, still sitting cross-legged at the edge of the water.

"So can I ask you a question that could possibly help our t-?"

"Spit it out, Obito."

"Why do you wear that mask?" he asked bluntly. To be honest, the question had been bugging Obito for the past week. A few days ago, Kakashi had managed to charm their waitress at a restaurant by not pulling his mask up fast enough, and she'd had _hearts _coming out of her eyes_._

Ever since, Obito had been wrought with curiosity. Was he really that good-looking? Was he better looking than _Minato-sensei, _who was really good by most standards? Was be better looking than Obito himself, who was extremelyhigh by his _own _standards? Would he have to see him as competition for Rin? Their teammate didn't make a big deal out of her little crush, but Obito had seen her occasional gazes at the masked chunin.

Kakashi merely raised an eyebrow and watched him with grey eyes, "that doesn't concern you," he replied, clearly trying to sound mature. Nevertheless, there was a brief glint of satisfaction at making his teammate irritated. He sunk deeper into the hot water, letting the edges of his face-towel get wet.

"Ch, you're an annoying jerk like always!" Obito stuck his tongue out at him, and then turned to Minato with a pleading look, "sensei, will you help me tie him down? Rin and I were already planning our wealth and everything, all we need is one picture…"

"I'm not going to help you violate my student," the blond man replied, still amused, "if Kakashi doesn't want you to know, then that's his choice, isn't it?" Frankly, it had been a while since he'd had to deal with children just being _children_. This was the first time he was spending time with them without some life-or-death or training situation hanging _somewhere _in the balance since the war had begun. It was strange, but still interesting.

"Exactly," Kakashi supported.

"I bet it's because you've got buckteeth," Obito began with an eerie grin, "or a wart."

"It's nothing like that!" The white-haired boy protested.

"Well why else?" The Uchiha boy clasped his hands behind his head and grinned, sitting up in the water, "or maybe you have a _skin condition_."

Minato looked slightly worried as the normally composed Kakashi narrowed his eyes. It was no secret that he was a rather prideful boy. But he remained sitting at the edge of the water, and decided to stay a spectator. Usually, Rin was the one who would break up their fights, and since she wasn't here, they would have to fight it out themselves.

"I do _not _have a skin condition," Kakashi hissed.

"Prove it," the Uchiha boy taunted, "because there's no other reason why a guy would cover his face _all _the time."

Namikaze Minato frowned. He was sure Sakumo-senpai would have begged to differ, but it seemed that young Kakashi was getting slightly irritated. It was rare that Obito would ever win their little spats, but this one looked promising.

"Fine, not like I care about what you think," Kakashi muttered. He slowly reached up and hooked a finger around the top of his mask, on one side of his nose. Obito immediately sprung to attention as he began to pull it down.

Right at that moment, there was a crash. Minato's senses flared, and he narrowed his eyes as the wall that separated them from the women's side – the one Rin was leaning over – began to creak. It seemed that the crates Rin was standing on had broken. His gaze shot upwards to see a set of startled brown eyes positioned to fall over the wood.

The Yellow Flash was standing at the bottom of the wall before any of his students could blink, and he managed to steady the brown-haired girl as she came crashing so that she wouldn't bang her head on the crates while landing. She looked up with a sheepish smile.

"Ah, thanks sensei," she told him.

"No harm done," he replied, slightly entertained by her guilty look from being caught red-handed, "I'm sure the owners can just reposition the top of the wall."

Kakashi's finger came off his mask as he gave her an incredulous look, "were you…spying on us?" He sunk a little deeper into the water, slightly self-conscious.

"Don't blame her!" Obito yelled, standing up in the water, "we were going to draw a picture of your face and then sell it to the other chunin and get rich but it was my idea so it's really not her fault!" He yelled, his entire sentence sounding like one long word. He could get really protective of his crush sometimes.

"Aha…sorry Kakashi," Rin scratched her cheek shamefacedly, "we can just put this behind us, right?"

"Of course we can," Minato spoke up, kicking away some of the crates near her, "now I think you should probably head back to the women's area before the owners come out and find you here, Rin."

At that, Obito suddenly noticed that she was dressed in a towel. It was a fluffy white towel that covered her fully from chest to knee, but even that seemed to be a little too scandalous for the Uchiha boy.

"Obito?" Rin asked, looking worried, "what's wrong, your nose is bleeding…geez, let me take a look at that…come over her so I can heal-Obito! Wake up! Get a hold of yourself!"

Kakashi watched Rin try to shake the fainting boy awake by his shoulders, and a worried-looking Namikaze Minato attempt to pull his students apart after understanding Obito's dilemma.

"That settles it," he muttered, "I'm never showing my face to _anyone_."

**ooooo**

**Since this was a stand-alone story, I thought I'd put it up separately and eventually take it down from TRT (although I'd have to put up an AN saying that this is required as back-story). I was experimenting with a different writing style with this one, and I'm quite happy with how it turned out. If you liked it, go check out The Resilience of Time on my profile, this is a kind of prequel to it. **

**Feedback would cheer up a poor chem student who just got piled with labs. Review please ^^!**


	44. Uchiha Madara & Senju Tsunade

**Chapter 43 – Uchiha Madara & Senju Tsunade**

_Now!_

_He's too far-_

_Just go, you little fool!_

Utakata mentally sighed and rushed forward into the collapsed shop, seven blue tails of chakra rising above him. He was tiring quickly, and even though he knew that this probably wouldn't work, he could understand Saiken's idea. Yagura-sama seemed to have an endless amount of chakra, and even with Saiken, there was only so much he could do. He leapt over pieces of broken wood with a seal clutched in his hands.

A few meters in front of him, the Yondaime Mizukage Yagura was lying where he had crashed through the beams. A small distance away, shreds of Edo Tensei regeneration were beginning to return to him, reforming his arm and leg. He pushed himself up onto his elbows and saw Utakata coming towards him, tired from their battle. With one last bout of energy, he raised his staff and swung.

Utakata saw the staff heading towards him, and hesitated for a second.

_Are you a Jinchuuriki or aren't you? Why would you be afraid of taking a hit? _Saiken admonished. For the entire hour of their battle, he had been doing nothing but yelling at his human for not being competent enough. This was their very first combined fight since Utakata had begun training, and their coordination was lacking.

The brown-haired man kept going forward, paper seal in one hand. He had just spent a ridiculous amount of chakra in successive bijuudama to send Yagura-sama flying, and he wouldn't let it go to waste. Unfortunately, within his brief second of hesitation, his opponent had brought up the staff, about to smash it into his side and send him away.

But he reached forward anyways, desperately trying to seal. After this, he would be of no use for hours while Saiken worked on his injuries, but it was his one chance to end it. His hand pressed the seal onto Yagura's chest, and he began to channel chakra into it, hoping that he would finish before the staff hit him. This, he was good at. Due to being a natural low-chakra type, his control was very high, and he was easily able to judge exactly how much chakra to pour into the seal-paper.

As the black lines began to spread, he sighed inwardly and then prepared for the strike of the staff. But it never came.

Utakata opened his eyes hesitantly and looked sideways to see a pair of legs. Someone had pulled the staff, preventing it from slamming right through him. When he saw Nii Yugito standing beside him with one hand clutched over the black metal rod, he smiled in relief. Her other arm, however, was holding a black-marked form over her shoulder.

"Seems like I got here just in time," Yugito commented. He looked over her to see that apart from a few bruises and cuts, and one long burn mark in her shirt near her middle, she seemed fine. Over her shoulder, the man he had seen before – the Yonbi's Jinchuuriki – was fully sealed.

_You hesitated for a moment! _Saiken admonished, _if she hadn't arrived, you would have been down for hours! Why did I get a second-rate human? Why couldn't I have gotten that Hachibi's Jinchuuriki instead? He seemed competent…then again, the rhyming alone would have driven me mad. It would be nice if I could trade Nibi, his human seems sufficiently sane…_

_I won, didn't I?_ Utakata mentally frowned. _You could be slightly more appreciative that our first full battle together was a success. _He allowed the bijuu's chakra to die down, and the blue coating around his form disappeared.

_Be silent, human, _Saiken grumbled from within his cage, _if you must know_, _I'm thanking my lucky stars that I didn't end up with Kurama's boy. _

Utakata smiled slightly, knowing that was about as much of a compliment as he would ever get from the bijuu. He looked towards the bundle Yugito was carrying, "is that…"

"Roshi, Jinchuuriki of the Yonbi," she replied, "I didn't know what to do with him on the marsh, but I suppose I can leave him here." She dropped the sealed reanimation beside Yagura on the broken floorboards of the shop, "remind me that we must take down an Akatsuki member named Hoshigaki Kisame sometime in the future. I promised this person that I would avenge him in return for his help."

"Of course, we'll have to come back for them later," he nodded. They turned to look at Yagura. The seal was laid in the middle of his chest, over the grey armor. Its black lines were slowly spreading across his body.

"So you succeeded," the Mizukage commented, "it was a good fight, Utakata." After a moment's pause, he continued, "I recall that you are the second son of my father's brother."

Utakata nodded, accepting the recognition. In Kirigakure, shinobi did not usually have many family members, especially since the reign of the Bloody Mist. Many young shinobi were recruited from their family's homes and taken directly into training, because family ties were seen as weaknesses. Even things like clan names were usually only for the utmost of formality; it was common that shinobi did not know their own family names, and Utakata was one of them. Since family was seen as an encumbrance, recognizing another as your kin was similar to telling them they were strong enough to not become a burden. "Thank you for aiding me, Yagura-sama. I would not have been able to defeat you otherwise."

_Well that's true, _Saiken spoke up.

_Thank you for your input, _Utakata replied dryly.

"No, I believe you could have, if I had been alive," Yagura went on. The black lines were now reaching around his upper arms, "I do not regret sealing the Rokubi in you. I wish you and your team luck against Madara. If they are all Jinchuuriki like you say, then maybe you have a chance."

"You praise me too much, Yagura-sama," Utakata told him humbly, "_Saiken _and I will continue to train together." He watched as the lines began to cover his neck.

"Yes, it is nice to know that Kiri has a strong Jinchuuriki at its aid," the lines were now making their way to his chin, and the staff had fallen out of his hands with a metallic clang.

"I apologize, Mizukage-sama, but he belongs to Kumo now," Yugito spoke up matter-of-factly. She crossed her arms over her chest proudly. Despite being a Jinchuuriki, she loved Kumo more than anything, and planned to take Utakata back.

"Well if he didn't regret it before, he certainly regrets it now," Utakata muttered under his breath. He gave her a peeved glance, and slipped back into the sleeves of his blue kimono, inserting his bamboo soap container into his sash.

"But that is fine, for both Kumo and Kiri," Yugito went on, "because we Jinchuuriki are no longer weapons for our countries. The balance of power is not needed, and I believe the new Mizukage Mei-sama is interested in international relations." Even with her blond hair partly out of its tie and her clothes covered in scratches, she still managed to look dignified.

Yagura sighed as the lines began to cover his face, "well, I only hope that Kirigakure will prosper under her rule, then," he said, slightly remorseful. "Nevertheless, I am proud to have you as kin, Utakata. You and…Saiken." He finished.

_He is…an interesting human, if slightly misguided, _Saiken conceded thoughtfully. Utakata smiled softly. Coming from his stubborn, overly prideful bijuu, it was akin to a statement of admiration. He looked on as the lines began to cover the last of the Yondaime Mizukage's face, sealing him off.

Then, he turned to Yugito. "I belong to Kumo?" Utakata asked with a raised eyebrow, "when did this happen?"

"When you came back to train with us, and were accepted as a jonin," she replied airily, "we do not give such a title out lightly, especially to someone who studied under another village's training system. If you wish, you can bring the student you sometimes talk about with you. Kumogakure has an excellent genin training system, she will become strong while studying under it."

"Well, that's nice to know…" He trailed. He looked towards the unmoving body of Roshi, "how…did you defeat him?"

She gave him a slight smile, "that is between Matatabi and I. Our battles are not nearly as flashy as those of the other Jinchuuriki, but we always win."

"But…how did you finish so quickly?" He went on, tilted his head to one side.

"I didn't, I took almost as long as you," she went on, "I just ran here quickly."

"Quickly?"

"Five minutes," she confirmed, "it's easier when it's not raining."

Both his eyebrows disappeared under his hairline. It had taken him almost half an over to run the same distance.

She smiled again seeing his surprise, "we shinobi of Kumo are _known _for our speed. You should keep that in mind, since you are one of us."

"Hmm, but Kiri is known for agility," Utakata remarked, "just like Iwa is known for strength, and Konoha for bloodline limits. You'll have to refrain from expecting me to become faster just because I have a new hitai-ite."

"Yes, of course. Give me another year and I'll bring you to shape. Now I think we should be going," she looked out at the street, and noticed the collapsed buildings all around, "you made quite the impact."

"It was Yagura-sama's Mizukagami no Jutsu," he explained, following her out of the building while stepping carefully over the broken wooden beams, "he reflected all my attacks until Saiken helped me break his suiton mirror."

Yugito raised an eyebrow, "that sounds like quite the battle. It-" She paused, and reached up to touch her head.

"What is it?" Utakata asked. At that moment, he felt a drop of water fall onto his cheek, and looked up into the sky. It seemed that the heavy grey clouds had had enough.

"This is not good," she commented, "it's starting to rain." She frowned as the few drops of water quickly turned into a light shower.

"That means that Pein has been defeated, doesn't it?" Utakata smiled slightly, "that's one problem down, then."

"But my katon attacks are weak in the rain, and Gaara will not be able to do anything…" She trailed, "and there is still Konan and the other Akatsuki members to worry about."

"My jutsu are stronger," Utakata offered. He sighed as his blue kimono was soon wet through as the drizzle turned into a full-out rain.

"Oh yes, Gaara and I in exchange for you. What a wonderful trade-off," she remarked dryly. He knew she wasn't being purposefully cynical, simply a little irritated at not being as much help as she could.

"Well we'll have to find them quickly, won't we?"

"Right," Yugito nodded, "see if you can keep up with me, the tower is only a few dozen kilometers from here-"

Utakata groaned.

ooooo

The figure standing before the Sannin was still and quiet, but that only made it more worrying, because they knew that he was biding his time to attack. The commands hadn't specified _when _he needed to complete them, and Zetsu had stated that he had more freedom than the others. The rain poured down onto him, but he seemed completely unperturbed by its chill.

Tsunade slowly slipped Nagato off her shoulder and laid the thin man carefully on the ground, frowning as the rain from above soaked through the green haori he wore. Hopefully he wouldn't catch a cold while paralyzed. She then walked up to stand between Jiraiya and Orochimaru.

For a brief moment, it felt nostalgic. With her two teammates standing on either side of her and a seemingly invincible opponent before them, it felt just like it had when they had once faced Hanzo. Even the rain was the same. It was a brief moment indeed.

"I was right, then," Jiraiya spoke, "Tobi was not Madara. This is Madara, and he's dead." The rain was beginning to soak into his haori and wet his hair, making the potential needles of his Needle Jizo heavier and harder to use.

"I told you…" Orochimaru muttered, "there is no way that Tobi could ever be Madara."

"But…" Tsunade faltered, "who is the masked man, then?"

"How should I know?" The snake sannin muttered in his hoarse voice, "he's just some Uchiha who survived the massacre."

"And you reanimated Uchiha Madara knowing that you were placing something _this _powerful in the hands of the Akatsuki?" Jiraiya asked grimly, "what on earth happened to having a duty as a shinobi? Lesser men than you have survived _torture _to keep power out of the wrong hands!" he whispered harshly.

Orochimaru stayed silent.

"Orochimaru…" Tsunade said quietly, threateningly, "You have two choices. You can be taken out by me, or by Jiraiya. See? I'm giving you choices."

The snake sannin didn't respond. There was really nothing he could say. He gazed sideways at her through his long dark hair with purple-lined eyes, and then turned to Madara.

Jiraiya visible started, "Tsunade-hime, you know about him, don't you? How do we take him down? Or at least hold up until our backup arrives." Despite his optimistic words, his voice was grim. His katon jutsu didn't perform well in the rain.

"He has the Mangekyou Sharingan," she began, "at least he no longer has the Kyuubi under his command. Without that, I could have had a chance of taking him down…while he was alive."

Jiraiya sighed, "dead people are hard to kill. But we cannot go easily; we must fight. Backup should be arriving soon. Maybe if we can find that Zetsu and take him out…"

"The Edo Tensei does not stop when the user dies," Orochimaru said quietly, "and Madara will not allow you to run away since he has been instructed to kill you, so finding Zetsu is not possible". If he had to choose between the two of them and the Akatsuki, he would rather help his troublesome former teammates. The Akatsuki would suffer for imprisoning the snake sannin.

Jiraiya's optimism was getting a little strained.

"Right," Tsunade nodded, "let's take care of our dear teammate first, we can't let him escape. I'm sorry I freed him, I never thought something like this…"

"Leave him to me, hime, I think there's another way," Jiraiya replied, "you know about what I have to do, don't you?"

Tsunade nodded firmly and pushed her wet bangs off her forehead. She knew that her teammate needed to keep his palms together for a while so that his toads could get him into sage mode. Unlike Naruto, he didn't have it perfected. Until then…

"Right," she nodded, "take care of Nagato while you're there. I'll try to keep him busy for as long as possible." Her eyes narrowed in determination at the figure before them. He was still standing quietly, with his arms crossed over his red breastplate.

Behind her, Jiraiya took Orochimaru's arm and dragged him back to where Nagato lay. She remained in her spot, prepared to put her life on the line to protect her teammate until he could fight with her.

"So this must be the Rinne Tensei…" Madara's voice was low and deep. He looked down at his hands, seeming slightly fascinated. He said it quietly, and all Tsunade heard were barely perceptible mumbles. She took a step forward, and he slowly raised his head to look at her. He was intimidating, even thought they were the same height.

"You look familiar," he told her, seeming almost nonchalant, "who are you, girl?" His eyes were thankfully still deep brown, although she was sure that would soon change.

She gritted her teeth, "Senju Tsunade," she said loudly. The chill of the rain and the grey light made her face seem paler.

He tilted his head to one side, "Hashirama's youngest child? What are you doing here? Is that the boy?" He looked past her at Nagato. The thin man was lying down, but his eyes were turned towards them, revealing the concentric circles of the Rinnegan. "Well, I suppose he is dead now. I'll need to take him with me."

Tsunade stepped back into his line of vision. Since he was paralyzed, Nagato _would _look dead to anyone who didn't know. She wasn't sure if it was wise to correct him. "Senju Hashirama was my grandfather," she corrected, "and I'm here to keep you away from Nagato."

"I doubt _he _would like that," Madara said evenly, "those eyes belong to me, after all," he uncrossed his arms.

Tsunade frowned, "those eyes are Nagato's," she said firmly, "I cannot allow you anywhere near them."

"Shh, girl. I wish to try something," Madara said thoughtfully. He crouched down and pressed his palms to the wet ground, "kuchiose."

Tsunade froze. There was only one creature that Uchiha Madara had been known to summon, and if it appeared here…she looked around frantically, dreading the sight of orange fur.

Luckily, it seemed that nothing happened, and there were nothing but grey pipes and greyer skies around. Madara straightened with a look of slight disappointment in his eyes. "It has been sealed, then…" he trailed, "no matter, I will find it eventually. For now, I will be taking the boy. Move aside, Senju Tsunade. You cannot measure up to your grandfather."

"I can try," she stated coldly, "and I _will _try, because I am the Slug Sannin."

"Ah, the 'Legendary Sannin'," he said impassively, "I have heard of that name from somewhere once, yes." He gazed on with his dark eyes.

Tsunade frowned, "you cannot have heard of that. If…that person is not Madara, then you probably died a century ago." It didn't make sense. It had only been a few decades since Hanzo had given them that name.

"I lived longer than you would think," he replied, "move out of the way." With that, he stepped closer to her.

She refused to move, and instead put one leg back in her taijutsu stance.

"You think you can stay alive in a battle with me?" He raised an eyebrow, "the girl who never inherited all of Hashirama's inferior habits and none of his luck? Unlikely."

"I cannot let you near Nagato," she said again, "if he knew the truth, he wouldn't go with you either."

"Wouldn't go? Could he be _alive_?" Madara slowly raised one eyebrow, and then brought his hands up again, frowning as he looked down at them, "so this is not the Rinne Tensei?"

She realized her slip a little too late, but decided that it couldn't be helped, "Edo Tensei," she replied, "it is called the Edo Tensei." The longer she could keep him talking, the better. She needed to stall.

"That is Tobirama's jutsu, but it feels like I have all my former power," he said carefully, flexing his fingers, which were covered in wet gloves, "I must have a talk with _him _later on." He seemed slightly irritated.

"By _he _would you mean Tobi?" She asked sharply. This was their chance to discover who that person actually was, even if they had to ask Madara himself. In all likelihood, he should have died before Tobi was born, but he claimed to have lived long.

"Is that what he calls himself now?" Madara's voice was speculative, "I suppose so, yes. And this Edo Tensei…"

Without warning, he came directly towards her, one hand held out in the traditional Uchiha taijutsu style. She frowned at the ridiculous speed, but dodged evenly. With a chakra-coated fist, she aimed a punch directly at his shoulder. At the last moment, her eyes widened when she realized that he wasn't moving away.

She almost drew her fist back in surprise, but the momentum was too high. Her fist sunk directly into his shoulder and crushed the red armor, making it through and almost out the other side. As soon as she could, she pulled her arm out and leapt back, keeping a safe distance between them. Why…had he let himself get hit like that?

He was looking down at where his shoulder was slowly regenerating with a contemplating look. "So this truly is the Edo Tensei. These regenerative abilities…interesting indeed."

"You let yourself get hurt just to confirm that?" She growled.

"How else?" He raised an eyebrow, "this jutsu was made for this purpose, after all. Now I really don't have time to talk, girl. I have the urge from the Edo Tensei to defeat all three of you, but if you run now maybe you can have a few more minutes."

"I'd rather have a few more minutes _fighting you,_" Tsunade narrowed her eyes, "I may be known to have no luck with money, but I have more than enough luck with my life. Do not underestimate me, Madara!"

"What is there to underestimate?" He said simply. With that, he rushed forward again, one hand aimed to strike.

Tsunade was almost lost in the flurry of taijutsu, in Madara's graceful movements and deadly accuracy. Apart from Senju Hashirama himself, this person had been known as the greatest shinobi in history, and it was obvious that he was playing with her just to test the limits of his Edo Tensei body. Even without using his Mangekyou Sharingan, he was still a formidable opponent. But Tsunade was a taijutsu master in her own right, and kept up with him to humor him. The longer she stalled, the better.

Unlike the other reanimations, he had no sense of self-preservation, and that alone made him twice as powerful. He had no qualms against taking a direct, lethal hit because he knew that he would regenerate, and he made full use of his Edo Tensei form. She barely had any time to reach into her pouch and pull out a seal, and he wouldn't have given her any opening for a sealing. It seemed that she needed Jiraiya to act as backup and distract him before they could even think of sealing him.

At this point, she was almost hesitant to deal any 'lethal' hits. If one of her punches landed, he wouldn't care, and it would only create an opening in her own defense. Instead, she leapt back, making sure to keep a good distance from Jiraiya and Nagato, and suddenly ran forward with one hand posed to strike.

He saw it coming clearly, and raised his right hand to strike the moment her punch met. But instead of cutting through him, she twisted her fist and coated it with chakra, causing him to go flying back and crashing into one of the pipes. He seemed completely unfazed even as he fell through the metal and landed in the small stream of water inside.

As he picked himself up with his armor making metallic clangs against the pipes, she put her hand over one of the bruises on her arm and coated it in green chakra. The rain was washing away the blood, so she didn't need to worry about _that. _It only took seconds to heal herself, and when she looked up, he was sitting at the broken edge of the piles, one arm balanced over his knee. From his vantage point, he was able to better observe Nagato and Jiraiya far behind her, who had his palms pressed together. He spared only a brief glance at her arm, and noted the green chakra.

"An iryounin? Hashirama could heal without any of that. You are second-rate at best," he noted impassively.

"I can do far more," she said between gritted teeth.

"Why is it that you are here fighting while your teammate stays behind?" He asked again, "I thought 'no iryounin may stand on the front lines'?"

"Indeed, that is one of the four clauses that govern iryou-ninjutsu that _I _have written," Tsunade said slowly, "but you have forgotten the fourth clause. Those who have mastered the Souzo Saisei…are able to discard or rewrite any other clause!" With that, she brought her hands up into the tiger seal, fingers wet with rain. Madara looked on as the White Strength Seal on her forehead began to spread, causing the black marks to stretch over the sides of her face as she activated the pinnacle of all iryou-ninjutsu.

"The Edo Tensei urges are getting stronger," he said, having never seen her technique before, "are you sure you do not wish to live for a few minutes more while I collect the boy?"

"Like hell!" Tsunade yelled out. The rainwater ran down her face and flattened her hair to her head, but the black marks of the Miotic Regeneration stood out against her skin, and her expression remained determined. Behind her, Jiraiya could not stop midway though the summoning, and Nagato was going to catch his death in the chill of the rain. She was Senju Tsunade, the Slug Sannin, and she didn't care that this was Madara himself. She had to find a way, _some way, _to fight him off.

Madara nodded, accepting that he would have to go through her to retrieve Nagato. He closed his eyes briefly, and made a seal in front of his face.

When he opened them, Tsunade blinked and quickly looked away from the red pattern of the Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan.

ooooo

Near the borders of Ame, a large ink bird was quickly making its way out of the village, chakra flowing constantly into it to stop it from melting in the rain.

"Sai, land here," Kakashi instructed, tapping on the boy's shoulder. He leaned over the side of the bird's wing, and noted the person on the ground.

"We are not out of the village yet," Sai protested, turning back to look at the jonin straddling the bird behind him, "we do not have time to stop." The Hokage had given him clear orders to _hurry_. Personally, Sai thought that someone as powerful as Sandaime would be able to handle himself against these unknown enemies, but orders were orders.

"We're going to take someone with us," he replied absently, focused on a figure walking on the road below, "go down, this is an order from me."

Sai spent a moment thinking about whose orders took precedence. But Kakashi _was _the one being called…

Naruto peered over the bird, trying to see whom it was that they were going to meet. When he saw a familiar large gourd, his eyes widened in recognition. "Gaara!" He jostled Sai's shoulder, "quickly, Sai!"

"Yes, Naruto-kun," Sai said tiredly, making his decision. He allowed the bird to slowly spiral downwards and land on the road in the civilian market area, in front of a red-haired boy. His short, wet hair was swept back, revealing a black inked character on his forehead. Sai turned back to Kakashi, "do you know this person, Kakashi-taicho?"

Gaara had leapt back at their sudden landing, and was now looking over the bird to see that Kakashi and Naruto were there, "Kakashi-san, Naruto. Where are you going? Who is he?" He looked towards Sai.

"No time to explain, where's B?" Kakashi asked quickly.

"He's gone ahead," the red-haired boy explained, "I didn't think I would be of much use in the rain."

"That's ok then," Naruto began, "it would take too long to go get-argh!" He suddenly clutched his stomach and leaned forward, his head crashing into Kakashi's back.

The jonin turned quickly to see Naruto holding his stomach and doubling over, "Naruto! What's wrong?!" He shook his student's shoulders roughly.

"Kura…he says…he feels like…he'll disappear!" The blond boy choked out, "he's…holding onto…" He scratched at the seal on his stomach.

"Calm down," Gaara instructed, understanding, "Kakashi-san, check his seal."

The jonin nodded and pushed him down. Sai watched curiously and Gaara helped push his orange jacket up to reveal the Kyuubi's seal, covered by the mesh of his shirt. It was black and visible, standing out starkly against his skin.

"What's happening?" Kakashi asked sharply, looking back up. The _last _thing they needed right now was seal problems. Both Jiraiya and Yamato were far away at this point and he was a second-rate fuuinjutsu user at best…

Naruto took a few deep breaths before answering, still lying down on the bird, "I think…Madara just tried to summon Kurama. He held onto the seal to keep himself there."

"Did it work?" He asked again. Sai was peering over his shoulder, confused, but that could be dealt with later on.

"No," Naruto slowly sat upright, "it didn't. But we need to get there fast! Sandaime-jiji won't be able to hold out for long against him." He looked down to see that the seal was fading back to normal.

"Right," Kakashi turned to Gaara and held out a hand, "Gaara, come with us". The red-haired boy allowed himself to be pulled onto the bird's back, and Sai frowned at the extra weight.

"What just-"

"Not now, Sai," Kakashi said quickly, "we'll explain later." The pale boy nodded and turned around. Sometimes it was convenient that curiosity was not one of the emotions he felt strongly.

"We need all the help we can get," Naruto told Gaara, "Madara has attacked Sakura-chan's mission team to get Sasuke. We have to go help them."

Gaara frowned, "ah…I'll help." He shifted on the bird so that he was at the back, evening the weight on the ink bird, "I hope one more will not be too much trouble," he called out to Sai.

"No. No trouble at all," Sai replied tiredly. He had done absolutely no fighting, and yet his chakra reserves were already strained. With that, the bird took off into the skies of Ame once more.

ooooo

Orochimaru watched as his teammate took off his red haori and laid it over Nagato's still form with care, giving him a wide grin as concentric eyes peered up at him in a mix of anger and curiosity. They were sitting on the wet ground beside Nagato, right next to the edge of the small lake. The rain was pouring heavily around them and their pants were covered in wet mud, but that was the last thing Orochimaru was worried about. Tsunade was a few meters ahead, facing the reanimation of Uchiha Madara by herself.

Satisfied that Nagato wouldn't catch a cold, Jiraiya proceeded to sit cross-legged, slap his palms together, and begin his summoning to enter sage mode. Fukusaku and Shima took a while to respond on a good day. He realized with slight annoyance that _this _would probably take longer. It was _lunchtime_, after all.

Orochimaru watched in surprise, and raised an eyebrow, "you're going to start doing that while _I'm _here?" It went unmentioned that with Kusanagi mere feet away, he could easily attack him if his hands were occupied and he was unable to perform ninjutsu. Even without his ninjutsu, the snake sannin still had superior reflexes and kenjutsu. Why on earth was he leaving himself vulnerable?

"You won't hurt me," Jiraiya said confidently, "we're your only bet on surviving this, after all. Although this might take a while…it's been a long time since I called those two. They're going to make me wait, I just know it. Kaa-chan is probably cooking lunch or something. I don't know how they can eat those bugs…"

He looked down at Nagato, "you know, kid, Naruto told me that in his time, you managed to take me down while I was in sage mode. I'm not sure exactly how your powers compare to Madara's, but maybe if Tsunade-hime had been fighting with me, I might have done better. Even without her, I took down your Animal Path and managed to figure out how you worked. That's pretty impressive, I think!"

Orochimaru was looking on at the battle between Tsunade and Madara worriedly. She was holding him off, but it was clear that neither of them had really begun fighting seriously. Madara was simply experimenting, testing the limits of his Edo Tensei body, if the fact that he allowed himself to be struck was anything to go by. "Jiraiya, this is not the time for reminiscing-"

"It's nice to know that I really made a name for myself before my death," he went on, "I'm sorry that my stupid teammate over there suggested killing you three. He can get really stubborn sometimes."

"What are you telling him?" Orochimaru hissed, "_stubborn?_ _That's _the word you're going to use for me? You're ten times more stubborn than I could ever be!"

"Ignore him," Jiraiya went on without looking up at him. He was still focused on Nagato's still form, "I'm glad I was your sensei. You and Yahiko and Konan were brave kids. Naruto…he's just like you three. I know he's probably tried to convince you to join us, and seeing that you tried to attack us, he probably didn't succeed. But what he said is the truth," he said sternly, "I had a hard believing it too, at first, but I know that he's not lying, and I'm a great fuuinjutsu master, so you can take my word for it."

"You still slip in boasts so easily," the snake sannin commented.

"Shut up, Orochimaru. I'm trying to have a discussion with my student," Jiraiya told him.

"I find it more interesting how you speak of me surviving after what our hime just said," the snake sannin replied dryly. The rain was making the entire situation insufferable, and his wet hair clung to his face, making him look even paler.

His teammate turned to him "oh well of _course _you'd catch onto that part first, teme," he sighed, "she doesn't mean it, though. I know her well. If she though you were truly gone, she wouldn't have released you no matter what Itachi told her."

"You've grown soft," Orochimaru replied, relatively confused, "what on earth are you two planning to do with me? I'm starting to think that maybe I should have stayed in the prison."

"She'll probably give you to Hiruzen-sensei and let him do what he will with you," Jiraiya decided, "sensei still has a soft spot for you, you know. He was very proud that he got his hands on the young orphan genius, even though no one knew where you came from," he suddenly had a contemplative look in his eyes, "or were you _really_ an orphan? There were no records of an 'Orochimaru' in any orphanages. Hime and I checked after you left, and Hiruzen-sensei didn't find anything either. So for all we know-"

"I just changed my name," Orochimaru admitted between gritted teeth, "don't make up any wild stories about me. Keep your imagination to your perverted books." With the rain flattening his long hair, he didn't look nearly as intimidating as he tried.

His face fell slightly, "ah well, we used to have fun thinking of them. But anyway, sensei would still accept you. If you asked, that is."

"You've _all _grown soft," Orochimaru rasped, "at least Tsunade is as ruthless as ever."

"Actually, she's gotten a soft spot for Naruto," Jiraiya shrugged, "that brat just kind of digs his way into your heart and sits there refusing to budge, you know? Kind of like Tsunade-hime when she was young, except not nearly as violent."

"Then she's found a new Nawaki," he drawled, "none of this has to do with-"

"I'm not going to take you away too," he said quietly, almost under his breath. Then he looked up with an irritated expression, "shut up, teme. I need to talk to Nagato," he snapped, palms still pressed together. He looked down into the concentric eyes of his former student again, "what I'm trying to say is that you three went though things that children shouldn't have to face, and I'm sorry that I couldn't do more. But becoming the leader of an organization of missing-nin and attempting to 'show the world Pain' isn't the right way to do things-"

"What is he, ten?" Orochimaru snapped, "he probably thinks you're being ridiculous!"

"No different from usual, then," Jiraiya said dryly, "if you keep interrupting me, I just might decide to go ahead and deal with you anyway."

Orochimaru wisely decided to keep silent, although he gripped onto Kusanagi, tempted to at least _try _to kill his teammate and make off on his own. The only thing that stopped him was the fact that Madara would kill him before he could go anywhere. He turned to see that Tsunade had just revealed her Miotic Regeneration, which he had only ever seen her use once, and Madara had retaliated by activating the strange pattern of his Mangekyou Sharingan.

"Almost there," Jiraiya muttered, "they've finally noticed, and they're starting to gather natural chakra," he looked across at Tsunade and frowned at the black lines that covered her face, barely visible from his angle, "it seems that Madara has begun to take this seriously. She needs backup; if those two old geezers don't hurry…"

"Jiraiya-sensei."

The cold voice came from behind him, and he stilled. Slowly, he turned around, palms still clasped together. A few meters behind him, a figure floated above the lake, her back merging into large paper wings that seemed completely unaffected by the pouring rain. She made a dignified figure and her ethereal beauty was still striking when she was so close, but a few strands of deep blue hair had fallen out of their perfect order around her face, hinting at the speed at which she had rushed to the tower.

Konan landed on her feet behind Nagato' still form. When she looked down and saw his pupils turned to look at her, _he was alive_, her shoulders fell visibly in relief. But Jiraiya felt dread stirring up within him, because his hands were still together, and he could not afford to restart the summoning. If she attacked now they would lose everything they came for…

"Konan-sama," Orochimaru's purple-lined eyes widened slightly. He realized that he had no chance against her, and that she would probably kill him before doing anything else. And he knew that Jiraiya would not risk separating his palms and leaving Tsunade to fight alone for much longer. His teammate was never one for diligence. If had to choose between completing the mission and saving Tsunade, the super pervert would readily choose his hime. He'd say something sappy and heroic, like 'I'd rather spend my last moments being with you than letting you die!', and Tsunade would punch him fondly. He didn't need the brain of a genius to know that his teammates cared deeply for each other.

But Konan was not looking at him, or at her former sensei. She was looking across at Madara, at the unfamiliar figure with the black sclera that marked him as one of Orochimaru's 'presents', as Kisame endearingly referring to them. But she had never seen this one before, and she clearly recognized the pattern of the Mangekyou Sharingan in his eyes.

"Jiraiya-sensei, who…is that?"

Suddenly, Jiraiya understood. She and Nagato didn't know about…

"That is the person Uchiha Obito has summoned in order to take back Nagato's eyes and kill Tsunade and me, Konan," he said grimly.

She turned to look at him, and her eyes briefly skimmed over his palms, noting that he seemed to be preparing for something, "how do you know about Obito-sama?"

"He doesn't deserve to have you call him that," Jiraiya muttered, "he's just an overgrown runt who betrayed his village and his sensei and his friends. He's not interested in anything else but Nagato's eyes."

For some reason, she was completely unfazed by that statement. He began to think that maybe, Nagato was willingly agreeing to have his eyes used in that way.

"Uchiha…Obito?" Orochimaru raised an eyebrow, "wasn't that…"

"Minato's student, yes," Jiraiya replied, "what Itachi said makes sense now, it probably has something to do with both of them having the same Sharingan…" He gave Konan a sincere look, and the rainwater ran down his clasped palms.

"Who is that?" She asked again, nodding briefly at the red-armored figure in the distance.

"Uchiha Madara," he told her, "one of the most powerful shinobi to ever live. It was known that only the Shodai Hokage could defeat him; Obito has brought a monster back into the world. If you truly care for Nagato, I would suggest leaving the Akatsuki with him."

Konan seemed slightly unconvinced, but when she looked down to see Nagato covered in her sensei's haori, her eyes took on a contemplating look. She looked across at Orochimaru, who was clutching his katana but not using it, and then back to Jiraiya. "The Akatsuki does not belong to Obito-sama, it belonged to Yahiko. Jiraiya-sensei, you expect me to trust you after you broke into our village and kidnapped my Akatsuki partner?"

"We had to," he said, "we're doing this to _save _him, believe me," he looked across at Orochimaru, "_he's_ only here because we're planning on taking him back to the village to make him pay for his previous crimes."

"How did you know that Obito-sama would be out on his mission?" She asked quietly, "you chose a very…opportune moment to invade our village. I doubt even you would have been able to last against Obito-sama."

Jiraiya raised an eyebrow at her, "we didn't know," he said truthfully, "we came now because this was around the time Pein was planning to invade Konoha to find the Kyuubi. Maybe the major events happened to match up due to the resilience…the point is that Obito reanimated Madara without letting Nagato know."

"First Itachi and Kisame and now Obito-sama…there seems to be no one truly loyal to our real founder," she said, sounding slightly irritated, "fine. I will not fight you while you take care of this Madara. But I will stay only to protect Nagato," she conceded, "Nagato will want to speak with Obito-sama later on."

"What does he want, Konan?" Jiraiya asked, "what did he offer Nagato? Why are you hunting the bijuu like this and sealing them in that statue-"

"To revive the Juubi, I suspect," Orochimaru offered, still keeping a safe distance from both Konan-sama and Pein-sama's body. When he had joined the Akatsuki, it had only been because of their increased knowledge and resources. He had only paid vague attention to their final goal.

"-and why would you want to revive the Juubi?" He asked, shooting the snake sannin a dark look before turned back to the blue-haired woman, "I cannot imagine people like you and Nagato hunting power for its own sake."

"It is to eliminate hatred from the world," she said softly, her words whispered through the rain. She glanced occasionally at Tsunade and Madara's fight with worry in her eyes.

Jiraiya frowned, "…alright, I admit that's a commendable goal. One I instilled in you myself, I think. But what does it have to do with the Akatsuki's work?"

She stood closer, and then slowly dropped to her knees beside Nagato, her Akatsuki cloak soaking up the wet mud of the ground even as the rest of her stayed strange dry in the rain. Nagato looked up at her with his Rinnegan eyes, as if silently speaking with her. She nodded, and then looked up at Jiraiya.

"He told us of his plan, Jiraiya-sensei, and maybe you will understand it. The Juubi's power is immense, comparable to that of the Sage himself. One day, Obito-sama will become its Jinchuuriki and then use his Sharingan to cast an eternal genjutsu on the world, reflected from the moon. In a world like that, there will be no hatred, and no pain. It will be infinitely better than the one we live in now."

There was silence as he considered it, palms still pressed together. It sounded…insane. Obito wanted to do _what _to the moon? Even Orochimaru was frowning slightly, as if worried that he had once been part of this goal. Jiraiya looked up to see Konan still looking up impassively, and Nagato's eyes were turned to him.

But he understood. Konan and Nagato had seen war and hatred firsthand, at the age where everything made such a permanent impression. They had taken one look at the world around them and decided that it was wrong, especially after Yahiko's death, which Naruto had related to him. That boy had been their pillar, and in their eyes, the world probably looked empty without him. Compared to a world like that, even an illusion would be better.

"What do _you _think, Konan?" he asked softly, "do you think the world would honestly be better than way?"

She gazed back emotionlessly, "it does not matter what I think. I will be the bridge that holds them both up, and we will continue with Yahiko's dreams."

At that, Nagato's concentric eyes widened slightly. _She told me that she was going to be the bridge that held you both up; you and Yahiko! _How strange…

"Yahiko was a dreamer, I agree," Jiraiya said wryly, "but he didn't dream of the type of imprisonment that you speak of. He dreamt of peace, but not like that."

"It is no use speaking to me, Jiraiya-sensei," she replied, "I only support them. I have neither Nagato's immense power nor Yahiko's will."

"But you are still my student!" The toad sannin yelled harshly over the rain while Orochimaru looked on at his former teammate curiously. Konan seemed slightly surprised at his outburst, and even more surprised at the swift change in his features.

Sudden bulges erupted around his face and ears, and his features grew larger and his skin more bumpier. The red markings under his toad-like eyes grew more prominent as he quickly swiped up to the side with his fingers, giving him a true sage-like appearance. With a satisfied grin, the toad sage of Mount Myoboku detached his palms, and brief clouds of chakra appeared on both his shoulders. When they cleared, they revealed two small toads clinging to either side of his neck.

"Jiraiya-chan!" Shima admonished, "why would you disturb us during lunchtime like that?! You young ones have no respect for the elderly. Tell him, tou-chan!" She tapped her small toad foot on his shoulder and smacked his ear with one webbed hand, making him wince slightly, "and what is with this rain? It's going to make me wrinkly!" Konan looked on, completely expressionless.

"You _are _wrinkly," Jiraiya muttered, receiving another slap to his ear for his efforts.

"Kaa-chan, he might be in trouble," Fukusaku spoke up, looking worriedly around. When he spotted Orochimaru, his eyes widened slightly, "Ka-chan! The snake one is here!"

"Ah, good. I hate him," Shima decided, "Beating a snake is a good reason to skip lunch if there ever was one."

Orochimaru unconsciously shuffled backward a little. He had always been the slightest bit jealous at the fact that Jiraiya had been able to attain sage mode before him, but snakes had never been so cooperative.

"Err…I'm not here to fight him…" Jiraiya tried. He was slightly peeved at being embarrassed in from of Konan, especially after his outbreak.

"Then why did you call us?" Shima asked, "those larvae I cooked aren't going to eat themselves, you know!"

"They just might," Fukusaku mumbled, "I saw one twitch. You're losing your cooking skills in your old age, kaa-chan."

"Anyway-" Jiraiya began.

"_What _did you say?" The toad sage winced at the piercing shriek near his ear.

"Ka-chan, let Jiraiya-chan speak-"

"What would you know? I didn't see _you _laboring to gather bugs from the very tops of the mountains!" Shima snapped at him, waving her little webbed hands.

"Err…couples really shouldn't fight," Jiraiya tried, "I actually do have a problem here, but before that, I must talk to my student," he turned back to Konan.

Fukusaku and Shima seemed to notice her for the first time. Upon seeing her, Shima softed, "what a beautiful human girl," she said appreciatively, "Jiraiya-chan, I thought you didn't like to use this form because of how it made you look around the ladies?"

"Seeing as the women he frequently consorts with are paid to do so, I doubt his looks are of any priority," Orochimaru spoke up. Even with sage mode, his teammates probably wouldn't be a match for Madara. There was no reason to hope.

"For the last time, shut up and let me talk to my student," he growled, "Interrupting all the time…you're the same rude teme you always were!" With that, he turned to Konan, who was still sitting by Nagato's paralyzed form.

"Jiraiya-sensei?" She asked, frowning at the strange new form. She had never seen her sensei do something like this, but it wouldn't have come up in his spars against their younger selves.

"You have a kind heart, Konan," Jiraiya told her in a lower tone, "you were always the one who helped Nagato when he fell, just like Yahiko did for you. You were the one who truly loved your village, and wanted peace for it. You _are _the bridge that holds them up, but now you have to make your decision." He stood up with the toads still on his shoulders, and turned back to glance at her over his shoulder. Even the force of the pouring rain did not stop his hair from slightly spiking up around him.

"I planned to leave my summons here to watch Nagato, but that won't be necessary now that you're here," he said, "try not to kill Orochimaru, my sensei would want him back. And protect Nagato, as you have always done."

With that, he ran off to stand by his teammate's side.

**ooooo**

**So reviewers have been digging out hints of romance in this story, and I'm sorry to ****disappoint (;_;) but this story is gen. I try to stay true to the original style of Naruto, and if you think there's going to be actual romance in canon, you haven't been paying attention. The only couple where both sides are alive and willing is a pair of 100-year-old toads :P**

**Review, please ^^!**


	45. The Legendary Sannin

**Chapter 44 – The Legendary Sannin**

"Sai, go faster!" Naruto yelled, "Sasuke could be hurt by now!"

Kakashi leaned out of the way as his blond student pushed past him on the ink bird in one large flurry of limbs, and narrowing avoided getting an orange-covered elbow in the face. He obligingly slid backwards to sit by Gaara, who was a much better travelling companion in that he _stayed put_ and didn't wriggle around.

At the very front, the poor former Root operative had sweat pouring down his forehead in an uncharacteristic display of tiredness. He looked back at where Naruto was leaning over his shoulder, peering down at the wide forests below and looking for an easy-to-spot pink head.

"This is as fast as I can go, dickless," he explained patiently, "my reserves are drying up quickly. I will not be of much use once we get there."

"That's ok," Naruto barely registered that Sai had resorted to his nicknames, "me and sensei and Gaara will take him down, you just stay near Sasuke-teme and make sure he's alright."

"He was tired," Sai explained, "I think he was attempting to use some new Sharingan. He wasn't able to keep it up when Hokage-sama and I arrived." If he had emotions, he would have been slightly peeved at being put to transport duty.

"That's not good," Kakashi spoke up, "he's not nearly ready to be using _that_…"

"What is it?" Gaara asked quietly, "and can we trust Sai by speaking openly?"

"Sasuke took his brother's Mangekyou Sharingan," the jonin responded in the same low tone, "I'm not too sure about Sai. I would trust him with my life in battle, but he still reports to Danzo-sama, who is rather questionable."

"He was being considered for Hokage when Tsunade-sama was in her coma from Pein's attack in our timeline," Gaara explained, "in one of his letters to my sister, Nara Shikamaru hinted that they were considering giving you the position, so I assume that he must have taken it from you."

"Mou...good riddance," Kakashi muttered, "I'm too young to be drowning in paperwork. I still haven't celebrated the second anniversary of my thirtieth birthday."

"Dickless, Old Man," Sai spoke up, sounding extremely weary. He was too tired to remember Sakura and Sasuke's lessons, and had resorted to the names he called people in his head, "I need to rest or we'll fall out of the sky."

Naruto pouted angrily – and not at the renewal of the nicknames – but Kakashi nodded, "go ahead, Sai. We have to be in good shape when we get there anyway."

The pale boy's shoulders visibly lowered in relief and he steered the bird down. The wind rushed past them as they dropped sharply and landed at the banks of the river that Sai had been following east. As soon as the bird's ink feet touched the ground, it burst apart, sending Naruto sprawling across the riverbank. Kakashi and Gaara landed more gracefully as they leapt off.

Once Naruto had managed to drag himself out of the water and wring out his clothes, Sai spoke up from where he was lying on the ground, resting his weary chakra-exhausted body. His ink creations were not meant to be used for travelling full speed for hours on end.

"Kakashi-san, do you think Sakura will still receive her promotion?" He asked, "seeing as her mission has become so much trouble?"

"Once they hear who she ran into, they'll give her a medal of honor and the pay of an S-rank," he retorted, "and just for getting back alive. And I've noticed you've completely stopped referring to _her _with nicknames." Indeed his masculinity went down by twenty percent every time the boy called him 'Old Man'. Gaara sat silently beside him, listening in.

Sai leaned to the side to look up and him and gave him a bland smile, "sometimes she takes my books away," he replied, "she succeeds more often than Handsome does since we usually share a tent."

Kakashi winced in sympathy. He knew that it was probably better that he stopped relying on those books, but he always seemed rather confused and uncomfortable without them. "It seems that she commands some sort of fear in the new Team Seven," he remarked, "I taught her well. All she needs is a nice mask to keep the boys guessing. And, well, I suppose she's old enough for Icha Icha now. At least in shinobi years."

"New Team Seven?" Naruto spoke up, slipping into his semi-dry jacket, "who's that?"

"Well, there's you and Sakura and Sasuke and Sai," the white-haired jonin replied, "I understand you're still in denial that Sasuke is the leader of your four-man cell-"

"That's not Team Seven," the blond boy informed him, sitting down beside where Sai was lying on his back, "that's…mini team seven."

"Oh?"

"The _actual _Team Seven is getting kind of big," Naruto said pensively, "I mean, there's Sasuke-teme and Sakura-chan and me and you and that weird Yamato-taicho-"

"Why is my kohai weird?..."

"-and Sai," he finished, "we're _all _Team Seven."

Both Sai and Kakashi seemed rather intrigued by his words, while Gaara simply continued to wring leftover rainwater out of his clothing. Sai had always thought of himself as a sort of extra, a replacement for either Naruto or Kakashi. Kakashi had been under the impression that his students had moved on. But Naruto was one to speak his mind when he felt like it, and there was no doubt that he really considered their four-man cell a _six_-man team.

"I think we should continue," Gaara told the pale boy softly, "if not on bird, then at least on foot until you regain your energy."

"I cannot travel very fast," Sai reported. He was still collapsed on the ground of the riverbank, and he doubted he would be able to manage a fast walk after flying for almost six hours.

"Any speed is _a _speed," Naruto pointed out, "let's go, we have to save Sasuke." He stood up and brushed himself off.

Sai reluctantly pulled himself off the ground, and then turned back to Kakashi, "I do not know who this person is," he said, referring to Gaara.

"I am Sabaku no Gaara," the red-haired told him, arms crossed over his chest, "jonin of Suna. I was sent with Kakashi-san on our classified mission."

Sai relaxed slightly. His mind automatically recalled the section in his book that covered introductions, "my name is Sai. It's very nice to meet you…Love."

Gaara blinked in confusion.

Naruto groaned. "Come on, not this again…"

ooooo

Under the afternoon clouds, Sakura and Gai stood panting on the surface of the water, feet starting to sink into the lake as a result of their tiredness. In front of them, the Raikage still hadn't taken a single destructive hit, and Kisame stood with Samehada tossed nonchalantly over his shoulder.

"Sakura…nothing seems to be working," Gai said with his hands on his knees in a rare display of weakness, "the reinforcements…should have reached us by now."

"I know," she muttered, still keeping a hand on his arm with her Shousen, "but at least Sasuke is alright. It seems that the Sandaime Hokage has gone to aid him." She glanced to the side, where there were now four figures instead of two.

Kisame seemed to follow her gaze, and his eyes widened in understanding, "ah, so Tobi was given a _present_ too. No wonder he was so adamant that he could take down the last Uchiha by himself. And is that the Hokage with them? How interesting. The famed leader of Konoha chose to save the last Uchiha over the two no-name jonin. Seems like I'll have to go over there and help my idiot partner after all."

At that moment, there was a slight disruption in the air behind the blue-skinned Akatsuki member.

If he hadn't recognized the presence of the shunshin, he would have been sliced in half by the tanto that swept through the air beside him. Another figure in black went directly for his side, and only a quick swing of Samehada prevented Owl from running him through. Behind the two, a myriad of masked figures waited for openings.

Sakura's shoulders sunk in visible relief as two of the masked figures appeared directly in front of them. One was wearing a Firefly mask with yellow spots over her white clay, and the other had the extended nose of a Raccoon. Both had their hands on the tanto they wore over their backs.

"Dammit," Raccoon swore, "we failed our surprise attack." In the world of anbu, where one-hit kills were the norm, this was worrying.

"Anbu division one, squad one reporting for backup, Team Sakura," Firefly spoke up promptly.

"You're just in time," Gai's tiredness washed away, and he gave them a wide grin, "that person, the dark-skinned man, he is an-"

"Edo Tensei, we can see," Raccoon told him, "we have faced these before during the chunin exams, and I watched how the Suna genin dealt with the reanimated Kazekage. I can draw up one of the seals that Jiraiya-sama had with him," he quickly leapt behind Sakura and Gai, "Firefly-"

"I will stand guard," the other anbu agreed. She looked out worriedly at where Tiger and Bear were keeping a safe distance from Kisame while watching him closely. Beyond them, ten other anbu members had their tanto out, ready to attack.

With that, Sakura turned to Gai, "Gai-sensei, how is your status?"

"I can fight," he replied evenly, "your iryou-ninjutsu techniques are taking away the pain, and my limiters will remain released for as long as I need."

She nodded. He would be in the hospital for months afterwards, but they didn't have a choice, "let the anbu take the Edo Tensei, and distract Kisame while I go help Sasuke. If that bandaged man over there is another kage, then Sandaime-sama will have his hands full, and Sasuke will need help with Obito."

"Yosh!" Gai straightened, his energy rushing back, "I will fight again with Kimase-san!" He yelled.

She turned to glance at the blue-skinned man, wondering if he would burst into fury again. But he barely twitched. It seemed that the newly christened Kimase-san had accepted his fate.

"Haruno Sakura, who was that Edo Tensei in his life?" Firefly asked quickly, "he seems familiar."

"He was the Sandaime Raikage," she replied, "he won't be easy to seal."

"Ah, we are fully aware of his listed abilities," the anbu figure nodded sharply, "you may leave him to us for the time being. We will probably not be able to seal him, but we will hold him off until Sandaime-sama is free and able to help us."

Sakura bit her lip, knowing that even the personal anbu of the Hokage would not be able to defeat a kage, but she agreed. Unlike the other generic anbu operatives, these were at least as strong as B-rank jonin. They would be able to handle themselves. Without hesitating further, she used the temporary distraction to run across the lake to where Sasuke was struggling to keep standing.

ooooo

Meters away, Sasuke stood behind his Hokage. Sai had just left them, even though he had tried to warn them that the Sandaime probably wouldn't be able to face the Edo Tensei and the Mangekyou Sharingan by himself; the old man was far out of his prime.

"Sasuke," Hiruzen began quietly, "do not worry. I have sent Sai to retrieve Kakashi. Your brother once said that he is the only one who can take down that person."

"Sensei?" Sasuke's eyes widened, "that's cruel! You can't make him fight against his friend!"

"Obito is too far gone," the Sandaime whispered, "and I think it may have something to do with their Sharingan. Uchiha Itachi knew what he was doing, I am willing to put my trust in him."

Although he still thought that it was unfair, Sasuke couldn't help but nod. He stood back and watched as the bandaged man – the Tsuchikage – stepped forward to regard the Hokage with a glint in his eyes.

"You are Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Sandaime Hokage," Mu acknowledged, "the Edo Tensei is not necessary to prompt me to defeat you. And you have grown old and weak as well; this will be my last favor to Ohnoki."

"Tsuchikage, you do not know who you are helping," Hiruzen tried, "that person is an Uchiha who once belonged to Konoha."

At that, the bandaged man turned to give Obito a calculating look, arms crossed over his chest. "If he is an Uchiha, then he is one that has betrayed his village. It has nothing to do with me," he explained, "he has given me the opportunity to take revenge for Iwa."

"Sending the interception team was a mistake, and I apologize for that. Konoha acted prematurely." The Sandaime went on tiredly. When he and the council had made that decision, he knew that it had been a mistake. But with the threat of the powerful Iwa-Kumo alliance hanging over their heads, he had reluctantly agreed to Danzo's plans.

He was really growing too old for this.

Sasuke had a vague idea of what the two kage were talking about from his history lessons. The Third Shinobi war was started when Konoha sent a team to intercept the Iwa-Kumo alliance through sabotage. However, one man in that team had decided to reveal himself as a Konoha shinobi in order to protect his teammates. They had ruined Iwa's chances and betrayed the peace treaty that had been made during the Second War. Considering that, it seemed perfectly logical that the Tsuchikage would hold antagonism towards the Hokage who had signed off on that order.

"Hokage-sama," he whispered, "maybe it was not such a good idea to come out here yourself…" Indeed it had been a _bad _idea. Obito-san did not want to _kill_ him. If it had come to it, he could have gone along and found a way to escape later on. But the Tsuchikage _definitely _wanted to kill the Sandaime Hokage.

"I would not allow one of my shinobi to be put in danger because of my actions," he replied quickly, "it is true that I am past my prime, but I have something that I can use against him until Kakashi arrives. Please stay back, Uchiha Sasuke, you have done well." With that, the Sandaime rushed forward.

The Uchiha boy nodded, a little tiredly. He allowed his shaking legs their rest and collapsed onto the surface of the pond, looking down at his reflection. The red of his Sharingan faded out of his eyes. His chakra levels were low, lower than he had expected, and he felt a strange pang that refused to leave.

In the three months since Itachi had died, he had put all thought of the dilemma from his mind, refusing to face it. But now, it seemed that it was no longer possible to avoid it. Not when he had finally wielded that great power that the most powerful of the Uchiha had dreamt of…and failed with it.

Uchiha Itachi wouldn't have been sitting there. He would have been fighting alongside the Hokage.

Sasuke thought about what Obito had said to him. That he had a key and didn't know what to do with it, that power was wasted on him. From a rational point of view, he was right. Sasuke was strong, stronger than most jonin, and only a level below Hatake Kakashi at the tender age of sixteen. But none of that mattered when he had the potential of a kage. Maybe he truly had wasted it. Maybe if he hadn't given it to the dobe's and Sakura's antics to bring him down to their level, he would have been someone incredibly powerful, a shinobi that was recognized as well as the Sannin.

All he remembered was Itachi telling him that he had taken a different path.

He looked down at his reflection with his dark hair falling around his face, and couldn't help but let a small smile tug at his lips. It seemed that this was his sacrifice, his punishment for not following his brother's plans. If Itachi's plan had worked, Uchiha Sasuke would have been a legend across the Five Countries. Now, he was only a rather exceptional jonin that his village liked to show off.

He recognized footsteps splashing across the water and stiffened slightly, prepared to fight. But he relaxed when he saw messy pink hair and wide green eyes. Glancing over at where Kisame was, he saw that Gai-sensei was now fighting alongside a group of masked figures.

Sakura dropped down beside him on the water and gave him a worried look, tucking pink hair behind her ear. Her forehead was laced with sweat and she was panting slightly, but otherwise, she seemed fine.

"Sasuke," she began, "report your injuries."

"Chakra loss and bruising," he told her gruffly, "Obito-san brought an Edo Tensei with him, like the ones the dobe told us that sensei had faced."

"I know," she nodded, "Kisame had one with him, too. But the anbu will deal with it until Sandaime-sama is finished here."

He gave her a searching look, wondering if she believed her own words. It seemed that she had not recognized the bandaged figure a few meters before them. "I doubt that Sandaime-sama will be able to fight another Edo Tensei after this," he said quietly, "that person is the Nidame Tsuchikage, the one who ruled over Iwa during the beginning of the Third War." He watched as Sakura frowned in understanding; she knew history much better than he did, after all. Boring things like that seemed to interest her.

They both looked aside at where one of the Tsuchikage's jinton jutsu had cut through their Hokage's doton defense, with the old man barely jumping out of the way in time. It was incredibly impressive that he was even able to match the Edo Tensei in his age, but his words had been too optimistic.

"Then we'll just have to help the anbu take down the Raikage," Sakura decided, green eyes narrowing, "they're not very good at overt battles like this, but one of them knows how to draw seals. All we need to do is get close enough and keep the reanimation down long enough to seal him." She reached forward towards his shoulder, which he was moving stiffly. Green chakra coated her hands, and the pain started to fade slightly.

"I though you weren't supposed to fight in situations like this?" He raised an eyebrow as he watched her Shousen.

"I soon will be," she muttered, focusing on the shoulder, "Tsunade-sama's been teaching me things." She looked up to meet his eyes, "but there's no need for an iryounin if everyone else is already dead. I'll be of more use fighting if it comes to it."

He nodded, "Sandaime-sama said that he's called for Kakashi-sensei to come back from his classified mission. Apparently Itachi told him that sensei was the only one who could take down Obito-san."

Sakura winced, and then removed her hand, finished with the bruising. "would it be better if he didn't know?" She wondered, reaching into her pack, "neither is fair, but which would be more cruel?" Even amid the sounds of yelling and crashing and fighting only a few meters off, the small space around them seemed eerily calm, and the water below them was still with only the occasional disturbance. Above, the clouds had only gotten more furiously grey and were not permitting much of the midday sun to beam though.

"I don't know," Sasuke said truthfully. He took the offered solider pill and bit down, feeling some of his chakra restore itself, "sensei would want to know, but there's no way to determine if it would be best for him."

She sighed and sat back on her heels, sinking slightly into the water, "Naruto-baka would know what to do. He'd yell out some Naruto Therapy…and then Obito-san would turn sappy and hug sensei and tell him that he's his best friend and that he's sorry he had to visit the memorial for all those years and then everything would be perfectly fine…"

"Yes," Sasuke agreed absently, "the dobe would do that," his eyes hardened as he realized that his silly problems paled in comparison to Kakashi's. "But he's not here, so sensei will just have to make do with us."

ooooo

"I suppose you are somewhat better than the annoying child that used to disturb our meetings."

That was the only warning Senju Tsunade got before the great weapon of Madara's Susano'o slashed across her middle, dealing the third fatal blow since the battle had begun. It could have been avoided, but she had realized that it took _more _chakra to defend than it did to heal herself afterwards.

Over half of the piping system lay in smoldering ruin around them. The ground was covered in wet rocks and molten pipe metal that sizzled with the touch of the cold rain, and the tower of Ame rose in the distance. Her one victory had been in leading Madara away from the pond where Jiraiya and Nagato and Orochimaru had sat by. She had bought them time. The reanimation had seemed peeved, but nothing more.

Indeed he hadn't once shown any emotion beyond mild annoyance. He was playing, testing his limits with _her _limits. But it was clear that he was serious about retrieving Nagato's body in order to keep the 'Rinne Tensei' to himself, and she hoped that she would at least have her teammate by her side when it happened.

The water seeped into her clothes and made her vision blurry. The rain of Ame was very different from the wet-season that Konoha occasionally went though; it was thick and completely unforgiving, and she could tell why people avoided this land. Madara seemed undisturbed, even though she knew that it was making his metal armor heavy and clogged.

Tsunade gritted her teeth and felt her injuries heal themselves. Madara was standing a distance away with his arms crossed over the red armor, and the full form of his Susano'o surrounding him. She had only gotten through that shield once, and it had taken too much out of her. Her immortality in battle was not as impressive as someone who was truly immortal.

Even as she hoped for him to arrive, she knew that Jiraiya was not suited to fighting this person. Her teammate was known for his summons, but Bunta and Ken and Hiro would not be able to do anything but run out scratching themselves in the salty rain, and Katsuyu would not be of much help here. Jiraiya's sage mode was formidable, but against a defense which only her strongest punch could crack…

"If I disturbed your meetings," she began loudly, "it was only because you spent far too long stalling and scraping more power to your side. You were never one to let my grandfather rule in peace." If he wanted to talk, then she would oblige. It was only more precious time to wait for reinforcements.

At this, his eyes narrowed slightly and she wondered if it had been wise to prod him.

"People do not usually pull their death closer," he remarked, "you must be especially foolish." With that, he walked closer, with Susano'o trailing above him. His gait was as slow and powerful as the great shinobi of his days, and she removed her hand from her newly healed injury and prepared to fight again.

At that moment, a flash of white appeared by her side, and with it came the comforting presence of the toad sannin. She turned sharply, and almost smiled in relief. Madara stopped his approach to look curiosity at her teammate.

"Fear not, hime!" Jiraiya yelled, with one hand posed out in front of him, "I, the great Toad Sage of the-"

"Oh be quiet Jiraiya-boy, there's no time for that," a stern-looking toad on his right shoulder smacked his ear with one webbed hand, and then turned to Tsunade, "ah, the slug girl."

"I like this one," the other frog spoke up, "a good reason to skip lunch indeed, Jiraiya-chan."

Tsunade watched Jiraiya massage his toad-like earlobe with a small smile pulling at her lips, "well, you've arrived in time for once." She turned back to Madara almost immediately, reluctant to keep him out of her sight. But the complete lack of fear in her teammates eyes was…strange.

Jiraiya grinned, and crossed his arms, "I'll just be glad you didn't make any comments on my appearance," he said lightly.

"It's no wonder you tried not to show that to me," she commented dryly, "it's a face that only a mother could love, and even then with conditions."

"Ah, such is the price of power," he replied, turning to look along her line of vision. He narrowed his inhuman eyes at the figure in the red armor, with long black hair that was almost unaffected by the rain. "So, this is Uchiha Madara?"

Madara simply raised an eyebrow at the man with the toad-like appearance. His gaze passed briefly over the two toads on his shoulders, "one with Hashirama's iryou-ninjutsu, and another with a failed version of his sage mode. How interesting."

"So far, he hasn't revealed anything beyond his Susano'o," she reported quietly, "with this much, there's a chance that we can take him down. But he has much more up his sleeve, and he knows it."

"Uchiha…Madara," Fukusaku breathed, his toad ear flipping sharply upwards, "Jiraiya-boy…please tell me you have a plan."

"Well," Jiraiya replied loudly, "my plan is to go down big." Despite being faced with the reanimation of one of the strongest shinobi in history, he felt no fear at all. The reason unnerved him, but he accepted it.

"Idiot," Tsunade admonished, "don't do anything rash," She eyed the Susano'o carefully, "listen, I'll distract him. Go for the back, the chakra distribution is not constant. Don't look into his eyes. Keep an eye on his chest instead, the plates of the armor signal his movement well." As a taijutsu user, she had learned to look for these things.

"Got it," the toad sage agreed. The two toads on his shoulders looked uneasy, but they were prepared to back up their summoner.

With that, Tsunade stepped forwards, fist in her palm. "Madara," she called, "the world will only be in danger with you in existence. We will seal you away."

"How confident she is, now that another weakling is by her side," the armored figure remarked. His arms were still crossed, and he seemed to only just realize that Nagato was no longer in sight. With that, his eyes held the slightest hint of annoyance, and Susanoo'o rushed towards her once more.

Tsunade gathered chakra from her seal into her fist, and rushed forwards, putting power into every step. The giant red structure that towered above her opponent looked almost indestructible, but she knew that it could break. To a mortal Uchiha, using the Susano'o had its disadvantages, but to an Edo Tensei with ridiculous amounts of chakra, it was almost easy to maintain.

She brought her fist forward and struck the great humanoid shield with one of the strongest chakra-enhanced hit she had ever made. Her fist made contact with the gleaming red surface, and for a second she felt it give under the strike. Tsunade glanced up at where Madara was standing three feet in front of her, with only a translucent red shimmer separating him from her attack. Her eyes narrowed as she felt the Susano'o being re-strengthened. But she had accomplished the goal, and that was all that mattered. She looked over Madara's shoulder and gave her teammate a tired smile.

A few meters the reanimation, Jiraiya put his fingers in front of his mouth.

"Senpou: Goemon!"

On either of his shoulders, the two toads had puffed out their cheeks. All in one moment, they opened their mouths and spat out both wind and fire, even as Jiraiya spurted toad oil. A great blaze of fire came rushing at the weakest section of the Susano'o.

He knew that the attack was not as potent in the heavy rain, but it was one of his strongest techniques. The fire evaporated the rain in its path, creating sizzling steam as it went, and most of it stayed alive to crash into the red figure.

Madara turned back almost lazily to see the small gap where Susano'o had been breached. So the girl had drawn away the effect of the shield, and the one in sage mode had used the weakness to break thought. He narrowed his eyes slightly and leapt away.

Jiraiya rushed to Tsunade's side and remained on his guard. They both watched as the red-armored figure landed a few meters away, no longer cloaked in his Susano'o. They didn't know if it was because he had something else, or because he thought that they knew how to get past it.

"Sorry," he muttered, "he was too fast." The paper seal he clenched in his hand was made useless as the rain turned it into a soggy mess. He let it fall to the muddy ground, knowing that he still had many dry ones tucked inside his shirt.

"I'll think of something," she replied, "there are other plans we can use against him."

"If this is the actual extent of his power, then it seems possible," Jiraiya replied gruffly.

"Now Jiraiya-chan, don't go underestimating things," Shima reprimanded, "even we toads have heard of this one. He is not one to be taken lightly."

"I know," for some reason, the same optimistic gleam remained in his eyes even as he said it, "I'm not going to go without telling this Madara person exactly who took him down, and since tou-chan so kindly interrupted me, it means that I can't die yet."

"You and your wish to announce yourself to every opponent…" Tsunade sighed.

"You know," he went on, "when we were younger, I asked Hiruzen-sensei about the shinobi who died in the war. I think I was a little miffed that I could ever go without spending a lifetime with ink and paper and pretty girls. You know what he told me?"

"He said that the true honor in dying as a shinobi is to look at the person who defeated you and tell him your name before you go," she whispered. She had heard the same thing from the Shodai himself.

"Yeah, I guess you had the same talk," he commented, "this brings back memories, doesn't it? Back then, Hanzo seemed just as undefeatable."

"Hanzo was nothing compared to him," Tsunade said.

"…all we need is that snake-teme here too, giving one of his pedophile glares. I bet even Madara would be creeped out by that," he went on loudly. The armored figure heard the last part and frowned. Most of his opponents tended to either shiver in fear or burst into solemn speech. He'd never been received with joking before.

"Well, we don't need him," she replied wryly.

"But he's still coming back with us," he turned to give her a knowing glance, "you told me to deal with him, but if I actually did, you know you would've regretted it. He needs to pay for what he did, but Hiruzen-sensei's torture should do just fine."

"You're being too morbidly happy for my tastes," Tsunade muttered, "I know this person even better than Hiruzen-sensei does. He's being careless, but only because he can afford to be."

"Indeed," Madara spoke up, having caught the end of their conversation. From where he was standing a distance away, he regarded the two figures with the first hint of seriousness since he had been reanimated. He slowly brought his hands up, and his fingers lingered briefly over his closed eyes, "maybe I should not be so careless. You are the Sannin, after all."

When he opened his eyes, both Sannin froze as they looked into familiar concentric circles. A pattern that they had assumed that only Nagato possessed. Madara showed no emotion towards their shock. His fingers slipped easily into the Ram seal.

ooooo

Konan sat by Nagato's side in the pouring rain, looking down into his eyes. It didn't matter so much that he would be paralyzed for hours, she could still understand him. They did not talk to each other very often after all; neither of them was very talkative and they liked the comfortable silence that would often settle between them. Between her and Yahiko's reanimated body. Nagato had retained his habit of avoiding too much speech, and Konan simply preferred silence. Just the movement of his eyes was enough to tell her.

She looked across at Orochimaru, who was watching both of them warily. In one hand, he held the Blade of Kusanagi, which had been taken from him when he had first arrived in Ame. The only people who had known of its location were Zetsu, Kisame, Obito-sama, and Itachi. One of them must have returned it to him. Zetsu and Obito-sama would never do such a thing, and Kisame was too loyal to her. Maybe there had been a reason Itachi had not been told about the Eye of the Moon.

"You should try to run," Orochimaru commented, pushing long strands of dark hair away from his face. He was kneeling down beside the pond, looking down at his watery reflection. He had not seen a proper mirror in years, and was marveling at how closely the body was starting to resemble his former appearance.

"And why would I do that?" She asked, humoring him. Only her sensei's words stopped her from slicing him to pieces.

"Jiraiya and Tsunade are powerful. Very powerful. They could easily take down kage-level shinobi between them. But they cannot hope to take down Madara," he explained, "I came across some rather disturbing information while researching the Mangekyou Sharingan."

She had no doubt that he had. Traitorous snake or no, Orochimaru of the Sannin was frighteningly intelligent and resourceful. But she remained silent, and looked across in the direction Jiraiya and run while using his senjutsu to sense where Tsunade and Madara had gone.

"He's not after you," Orochimaru said again, "if you leave, he might not track you down." Despite his words, his tone held no actual worry for her. He was simply wondering if she would buy him more time when Madara eventually came for him and Nagato.

"Quiet, snake," she said impassively.

"You grew up in Ame," he went on, " you wouldn't know who Madara is. He's not someone you can defeat."

She glanced over with an irritated look in her eyes, "I told you to be-"

Her words were cut short when they heard a large groaning sound come from the south. Konan looked over sharply, up at the sky, and frowned at the way the clouds were parting. When the large meteor revealed its black surface, she stiffened, and a feeling of dread settled onto her.

"So this is what Uchiha Madara can do," Orochimaru remarked quietly, watching the large meteor in the distance slowly come down upon the southern districts of the village, "it is like the power of a god…" He turned to see that the blue-haired woman was standing up, "Konan-sama?"

Konan had a look of panic in her usually calm eyes, but her voice remained even. "It's headed towards the shinobi residences, and they are all under house-lock," she said softly, "I cannot allow my people to die, I must deflect it…" She looked down at Nagato, and seemed to understand what he was conveying through eyes alone.

With that, hundreds of slices of paper began to appear around her, swirling into two large wings that extended from her back. She glanced back at Orochimaru to give him one pensive look, and then took off into the skies.

The snake sannin watched her go until the white blur was barely visible in the distance. It seemed that Pein-sama and Konan-sama had both been convinced by those fools who used to be his teammates, just like everyone else eventually was. If he had a third of their persuasive power, the position of Hokage would have readily fallen into his lap.

He looked across at where Nagato was lying on the wet ground, still wearing Tsunade's green haori, which was now soaked though and almost translucent. He was close enough to reach out and touch. Pein-sama didn't move, but the concentric eyes were looking at him. Watching him. With the eyes that had haunted him ever since they had first turned against him.

Many people felt stronger when they had powerful shinobi by their sides, but Orochimaru did not. He had grown up in a different world from Jiraiya, whose two idiot parents doted on him, or Tsunade, who everyone had seen as the Shodai's wonderful granddaughter. He had grown up in a place where stability was an unknown term, where life had changed almost every day, and the only was out was through knowledge. A place that he hated so much that he had changed his identity upon leaving, if only so that no one would ever find out where he had come from.

That was how he knew that people could even turn on their closest friends, and in that case it was best to make sure you were stronger than those you associated with. It was one of the reasons he had eventually left the Akatsuki. Being around people like Itachi and Pein-sama was stressful.

With that in mind, he brought up the Blade of Kusanagi, and held it over Nagato's face. The blade glinted as rainwater ran down its length and dripped into the paralyzed man's red hair, and his concentric eyes reflected off its surface. Orochimaru was supposed to trust his teammates to take care of Madara and return so that they could hand him over to their sensei, but he told himself that would never happen. They would both probably die there, and so would he.

But he had been the one to bring Madara back to pay for his own life. It was partly his responsibility. Madara wanted the Rinnegan eyes, and if he took them, no one knew how large of a disaster that would be. He now had the chance to rid the world of a doujutsu that it wasn't ready to face. The responsible thing to do would be to take the chance.

And besides, Nagato was looking up at him, perfectly aware that the snake sannin was about to blind him while he was unprotected. Paralyzed or no, he was fully conscious. If he stopped now…

That was how he rationalized it to himself, but deep inside he was perfectly aware that the temptation to destroy the eyes that had haunted him was hard to resist, and that was the only reason the blade was there.

For some reason, his hand didn't feel like carrying through. Maybe it was because he remembered Tsunade's absurd luck when it came to her life, which gave him the slightest chance of survival. Orochimaru sighed and drew the blade back, leaving Nagato's eyes unharmed. He wondered exactly what those years in the cells had done to his mind.

ooooo

Uchiha Madara remained still, pale fingers still locked together. The raindrops were the only sound that could be heard.

"How?" Jiraiya breathed, "how does he have…" His toad-like eyes were wide.

"I shouldn't have brought him this far," Tsunade cursed silently under her breathe, "I think he was hesitant to risk harming Nagato's body while it was close by. But now that we are this far away, he won't hold back anymore…" The black lines around her face remained strong, but looking into those concentric eyes caused fear to rise up within her. She began to understand what Orochimaru had felt about Nagato's eyes; they were truly terrifying.

"You must run, Jiraiya-boy! Tsunade-chan!" Fukusaku spoke up gravely, "this is not something that can be faced!"

"We can't," Jiraiya muttered, "the fate of time itself depends on this. Even if Madara somehow goes against his Edo Tense commands, we could die in a day or two or be trapped in Obito's moon-plan."

"This is some situation you've gotten yourself into," Shima kept her eyes on Madara's seal, "the strongest jutsu we can offer is a genjutsu, but that would be foolish against someone like him." She stroked her wrinkled chin worriedly.

At that moment, the rain suddenly stopped around them. They could see that it continued to shower in the distance, but it no longer fell where they were standing. Tsunade glanced across at Madara, who had lowered his hand from the Ram seal. He seemed to have whispered something…

"Tengai Shinsei."

Dreading what she would see, she slowly looked upwards. In the sky above them, the heavy grey clouds had parted. From beyond them, a large, black surface appeared in the sky.

"What is that?" Jiraiya asked sharply, yelling across to Madara.

The red-armored figure barely twitched. He was following her gaze upwards at the large meteor that was beginning to pass through the clouds of Ame, headed directly for where they were standing. It made a rumbling sound that shook the very land and darkened the area. His arms were crossed once again, and he gave the sky a calculating look, as if making sure that it would fall to the south. Away from the pond where Nagato lay.

"The Edo Tensei was made for jutsu like this, where one does not need to worry about being in the line of attack," Madara said evenly, "it is interesting how much more one can do without a mortal body," he looked across at Tsunade, "your regeneration was interesting while it lasted, girl. But not even Hashirama would have been able to heal himself after something like this."

Tsunade gritted her teeth. Even at full power, her living body could not withstand being crushed to pieces. After using almost a third of the chakra she had spent twenty years gathering to bring Gaara and Itachi back from the brink of death…

"Jiraiya," she said softly, "go. I'll use my strength to hold it off for as long as it take for you to get to its edge. I have just enough chakra left in my seal…find Naruto and take him away. Tell him everything we've learned before Madara catches up with you so that next time…next time he'll succeed during the reset."

"Tsunade-chan…" Fukusaku frowned sadly. Shima peered out from her spot on Jiraiya's shoulder as if tempted to protest, but she didn't know what else they could do.

With that, she stepped forward, one hand tightly fisted. She glared across at Madara with all the hatred she could express. There was somuch more she wanted to say, but the faster he left, the better. Besides, she had the feeling that Jiraiya knew what she would have said.

_Jiji, I hope I'm getting your intimidating look right…_

She stopped when a firm hand landed on her shoulder.

"No way," her teammate's disturbingly cheerful voice spoke up, "I'm not letting you be more chivalrous than me, hime. In case you've forgotten, you're in the presence of the Great Jiraiya the Gallant!"

Tsunade looked back worriedly at his toad-like features. They both knew that there was nothing he could do against this. What exactly was he planning?...

"Konan is watching over Nagato," Jiraiya said softly, "her looks aren't the only beautiful thing about her, you know. She's kept every inch of that fierce loyalty she once had towards those two that she grew up with, and she won't hesitate to defend Nagato against Madara with her life. I cannot allow another of my students to die."

But what else could he do?

"And besides," he went on, "if I was going to abandon a mission to have a few more hours to live, I would want to spend them with you _and _that orange brat. And maybe Yugito-chan too. A real spitfire, that one. Teasing her is good fun. And Konan-chan. Just _looking _at her is a delight."

Well, it wasn't like she had actually _expected _his perverted nature to subside just because the entire fate of the _world_ was being threatened.

"Jiraiya, is there a point to this?" She asked tiredly, "the longer you stay here, the longer I'll have to keep that meteor away. I can only give you a minute…"

The toad sannin took in the rainy wetness that covered her face, the heavy breathing, the strands of yellow hair in complete disarray, and the brown eyes that regarded him with hints of regret. "I have a plan," he said quietly, "and I need some time."

"One minute," she stressed, "two at most."

"Yugito and B are headed this way," he said quietly, "I can sense it through my senjutsu. Naruto and Kakashi and Gaara are not in the village, I cannot locate them. I don't know why, but they must have good reason for leaving."

She looked visibly relieved at the thought of backup, but she didn't know how much help it would be. If they were this late, then they must have been up against strong opponents. They were probably tired, and she couldn't spare any time to heal them now…

"Fine," Tsunade nodded, "I can't think of what your plan is, exactly, but it's the only one we've got and there's no time to discuss," she looked up worriedly at the meteor, which had gotten must closer. It blocked out their view of the clouds with its inky darkness, and bore down on them with almost deafening silence blocking out the rain. Before long, it would be brushing against the tops of the pipes that towered around their small, barren crater.

"You won't like it, but it'll work."

"Try not to die."

"Well, not yet. After all, I still haven't told him my name."

**ooooo**

**Note: I do update my profile regularly, and I've started considering responding to significant guest reviewer questions on it (I'm perfectly fine with guest reviewers, I used to be one myself. Laziness, unite!). It also has some arc info. So I'm not sure if you guys have been checking, but go check it out after updates!**


	46. The Story of Yashagoro

**Note: The first three sections are not omakes, they're background. Enjoy (^^) **

**Chapter 45 – The Story of Yashagoro**

**Age 6 - Name**

"My name is…Orochimaru."

It was still slightly strange to stay. He was just starting to get used to it. Even though he'd assumed it over a year ago, he'd only had to introduce himself to the academy teachers. He'd avoided the other students as much as possible.

The white-haired boy sitting across from him on the grass outside the academy tilted his head to one side, "Orochi…maru? What kind of name is that?" He had the voice of somehow who blurted out every though that passed through his head.

"Jiraiya!" The blond girl next to him reached over to punch him lightly, "don't be so rude!" She turned to the pale boy and gave him a winning smile, "that's a nice name."

He hoped it was. It had been the name of a powerful shinobi, one he had seen in a history book. Powerful enough to be immensely talented and able to summon the white snakes, but not enough to be well known. After all, he wanted to make a name for _himself, _not for someone else.

"This is Jiraiya," she went on, "he's kind of stupid, but he's really good at the practical stuff so you'll just have to get used to him."

"I beat one of the new genin in a spar once," the white-haired boy said proudly. He seemed to have a rather selective memory.

She shot him a glare for interrupting, and then turned back, "and my name is-"

"Senju Tsunade," the pale boy said quietly. _Everyone _had heard of her. She was the granddaughter of the Shodai Hokage, and currently held the purest Senju blood of anyone of their age.

"Oh, you already know me!" Tsunade exclaimed. He would have liked to think that she was being arrogant like clan-heirs tended to be, but she had the look of someone who was genuinely unaware of her own appeal.

"Why are you here?" The boy asked. These two were tied at the top of the class, just a few marks above him. Although he had long decided to remedy that soon, ever since their very first ranking five months ago when the academy year had begun. If only he had more quiet places to study during the day – and maybe a sparring partner outside of class – he was sure he would surpass them.

Today, they'd come to disturb his peaceful study session underneath a shady tree while the other students played in the academy grounds. He didn't mind associating with high-ranking students like them, but he couldn't get his hopes up.

At this, Jiraiya lit up, "cause we're going to be on a genin team together!" He yelled, "hime's uncle told her that if the two of us graduated early, we could be put on a team with each other instead of with the stupid genin who take _years _to finish."

"And we noticed that you're really skilled, Orochimaru-kun, so maybe you'd like to join us. We could all graduate together within the year," Tsunade added on. She was still smiling widely. He knew those smiles well; they belonged to people who could effortlessly get their way.

The pale boy nodded, "that would be acceptable. I already planned to reach genin level before my seventh year." The one caretaker who knew he was attending the shinobi academy during the day had said it was impossible, but he was going to prove him wrong (most of the other children assumed he was going to a civilian school to learn a trade, and he preferred it that way).

"Awesome!" Jiraiya reached over and punched him playfully on the shoulder, "so you're ok with being teammates?"

"Yes, but we'll need to train. Are you free to spar after our classes are over? Preferably at least twice a week?" The boy put in quickly. He was already better than both of them in the theory, but punching a log could only get you so far.

"Um…my mother might yell at me if I get back late," the white-haired boy admitted.

"I'm free," Tsunade spoke up, "my uncle doesn't get back for a while, and he picks me up from Jiraiya's place. We're not allowed to use the academy grounds after school, though. Are there any open spaces next to your house?"

The boy's face fell. Maybe this hadn't been such a good idea. _This _was why he didn't like to talk to the other children.

He knew that there wasn't anything wrong with coming from an orphanage. Indeed many powerful shinobi grew up in such places. The one he attended was better than most; the rooms were double but his roommate was a quiet boy who never snored. The food was edible, and the caretakers were decent people. None of the other children liked him very much, but that was fine because he didn't want to be involved in their petty friendships. It was a nice place, but it had an insufferable atmosphere of mediocrity from which he struggled to escape. He turned his attention back to the two students in front of him, wondering what to say.

This was a great opportunity. Tsunade, who specialized in taijutsu, would be a true challenge to face. Maybe if he made her swear to tell no one…before he could open his mouth, Jiraiya spoke up.

"Tsunade-hime…" he whined, "if you're not there, she'll nag me. And then what am I supposed to tell your uncle when he comes? He's scary!"

"Fine," she turned to Orochimaru, "could you come with us? Jiraiya has a really large yard where we could set up targets. That is, if your parents don't mind…"

"I'll come," he stated, "that won't be a problem." It was true that the caretakers would come looking for him if he wasn't back by dinner. Some of them – especially the one who knew he was attending the academy – took a liking to him and wouldn't like it if he was gone for long. But he could always sneak into his room before then.

"It's settled, then. We'll be sparring partners," she smiled again. He wondered how her facial muscles could keep it up for so long.

The annoying white-haired kid rushed to his feet and put both hands on his hips. The other boy looked up at him, books and pens still spread across his lap.

"We're going to be the most powerful shinobi _ever_," Jiraiya declared.

**Age 7 – Leaving **

"We cannot give you all the files," the young woman at the desk stated, "we need to maintain our records."

The pale boy standing across from her bit his lip in frustration, allowing long dark hair to fall into his face. It would be easy to take him if they were kept within the orphanage, but all the important ones were at the data centre, which was managed by the _shinobi _paper-pushers.

"They're _my _files," he stressed, "I should have the right to decide where they go."

The woman sighed and leaned forward, "Yashagoro-kun-"

He winced slightly.

"-if you don't have these records, you will not be recognized as a citizen of Konoha," she began, "I know that you want to destroy all evidence that you grew up here - trust me, you are not the only one who's tried – but those are important papers. If you ever want to start a shop or take a trade apprenticeship, the Uchiha police will have to take a look at them. And if they don't find them, they might think you're a fugitive. Your parents did not leave us your birth records."

Orochimaru entertained the idea of telling her that he was a shinobi, and was therefore under the jurisdiction of the Hokage instead of the police. But she wouldn't be able to do anything even if she knew. He sighed and left the room, ignoring the worried look she gave him.

"Yashagoro!"

Orochimaru turned to see one of the other boys walking down the corridor towards him. This boy had been one of his old roommates until he had requested to room with one of his friends and left.

"Is it true?" The other boy asked, "you're leaving?"

He nodded briefly and then turned around to walk towards his room. The boy ran up to walk beside him.

"So where are you going? Found a relative?"

"No."

"Got adopted?"

"No."

"Well, some of the other kids say that you've been going to school, but I can't think of anyone who'd want to hire a seven-year-old," he trailed, "hey, you're not being offered a place to stay by some shady old man, are you? We actually lose a lot of kids that way, but trust me it's better here."

"No. Go away."

Orochimaru reached his small room and swung the door open. He walked over to the bed and opened the attached drawer underneath where he kept most of his things. For some reason, the other boy was peering over his shoulder.

"The Kage of History?" He read, "why would you need to read stuff like that?"

"I was curious."

"That's shinobi stuff," the boy went on, watching Orochimaru collect the books and pack them into a bag, "wait, aren't you going to say goodbye?"

"No."

"Not even to Tagoto-chan?"

"No."

"Are you sure?" The boy smirked, "wasn't she like the only one you wanted to talk to?"

"She doesn't like me very much." She wasn't unkind per say, but she did make a significant effort to find excuses to not be in the same room with him ever since he had first asked for her name.

"Damn straight, but it's not like you try," he retorted.

Orochimaru stayed silent. He finished gathering all his study materials into his pack and straightened, looking around the room. There wasn't a lot to take. He had spent all the money he was allotted on books and writing tools, and they were rather expensive. He gave the small room another once-over, and then slung the pack onto his shoulder.

"Hey wait," the other boy – who was still there – followed him out of the room and back into the empty hallway. Most of the other children were outside playing at this time of day, so it was the perfect opportunity to leave.

"What?" He turned around, slightly annoyed.

"It's not safe to leave at our age," the boy frowned, "I mean, I'm sorry for teasing you, but it was just for fun, honest."

Orochimaru narrowed his eyes. The arrogance of this boy, thinking that _he _could be the reason for someone changing their life, "I understand that you don't want anything on your conscience, but I assure you that I'll be perfectly fine."

"If you're sure…" The boy rubbed the back of his head, and then gave him a small smile, "I'll tell Tagato-chan that you liked her, just as a favor, ok?"

"I didn't."

"Keep telling yourself that," he retorted, "and…well…good luck, Yashagoro. Maybe I'll find you and invite you to a reunion or something in the future, when we're all older and out of this place."

He nodded and turned to leave. That was exactly what he was afraid of.

**Age 8 - Parents**

Two years later, the three students of Sarutobi Hiruzen were gathered in their training grounds, under the shade of a tree after their morning training. Their sensei was conspicuously absent for the third day in a row.

"Sensei's always disappearing on us," Jiraiya whined, "why couldn't we get Homura-san instead? I bet _he _wouldn't leave his students to train by themselves for _days_…" He reached into his pack and took out three boxed lunches that his mother had packed, and handed on to Tsunade and the other to Orochimaru.

The pale boy took the box and the set of chopsticks. Since he was finally old enough to leave the orphanage, he had found his own place. But he really had no time to make lunch in the mornings, and Tsunade had cheerfully volunteered the services of Jiraiya's mother once she realized that he was always buying his lunches. He still found it strange that the woman consented to spending time for a boy she'd never met, but he couldn't exactly complain.

"Don't be so insensitive," Tsunade spoke up, "he's fighting in the coming battle with Kiri. If Konoha doesn't take the upper hand now, we could be in another Shinobi War in a few years. We should be glad that he's spending _any _time with us." She pointedly shoved rice in her mouth. Since their sensei was her grand-uncle's student, she had known him for a while before the other two had met him.

"He does what is required," Orochimaru responded. Hiruzen-sensei had taken an interest in him ever since he had admitted his goal. After all, Jiraiya could be rather annoying (no one but Tsunade really knew how to put up with him for long periods of time) and their sensei didn't have the knowledge to train Tsunade in the iryou-ninjutsu she had inherited from the Shodai. Orochimaru's specialty, however, was the same as his.

"Exactly. We should be happy. We got him because we're geniuses," she supported.

"Well you have it easy," Jiraiya grumbled, leaning back on his elbows in the grass, "people would find it strange if you _weren't _a genius, hime."

"Idiot. That's what makes it hard," she sighed, "everyone sets my standards so high that it's practically impossible to impress them. I have to do something _really _great." Her lower lip stuck out in a pout and she dug her chopsticks back into the boxed lunch.

"Well, think of what it's like for me!" The white-haired boy retorted with his mouth partially full, "have you _ever _heard of a great shinobi in history who had parents who nag him all the time?-"

"Your parents are the nicest people I've ever-"

"Jiraiya, do the dishes! Jiraiya, clean your room! Jiraiya go feed your stupid rabbit before he starts eating the furniture! You should see what they're like _after _you leave!" He went on, "sure they're all nice and wonderful when the _Shodai's granddaughter _is present, but they're actually horrible," he gestured dramatically, sending grains of rice flying, "I mean, if you ever want to marry me, hime, you'll be set for life. Dirty dishes? Unwashed clothes? Pass 'em my way cause I've got years of professional servant-training. All you'd need to do is nag properly."

"You should be grateful to have them," Tsunade retorted, "I would love to see my father more often, but he's always off doing missions and they're all classified and really long. I know he's got duties as an ambassador, but he's out of the village more often than in!"

"Yeah but he gets S-rank pay on a daily basis," Jiraiya pointed out, "and he gives it to your uncle, who spoils you rotten. If he had it his way, he'd probably hire a chef just to make boxed lunches for you."

"And I would politely decline because I love your mother's cooking," she shot back.

Orochimaru watched his teammates argue while eating silently. The topic of parents came up often around these two, since they were both always complaining. He remembered a time back when he'd wanted to know who his own parents were. But most orphaned children ended up that way because their mothers had done something questionable. It was better to not know.

He'd always remained quiet during these times. He couldn't imagine having the restrictions that Jiraiya had, but he thought it would be nice to come from a great shinobi family like Tsunade. Although she had brought up an interesting point in that people expected much more of her due to her lineage.

"Oi, Orochimaru," Jiraiya turned to him, "what do you think? Who's got it easier?" His nose crinkled, "no wait, you're biased. You like her better than me."

He raised an eyebrow and remained silent.

"But we're curious," Tsunade added, "what are your parents like?" She was genuinely curious, since they'd never really delved too far into their solitary teammate's life.

"They're not around anymore," he said simply.

She winced in sympathy, "were they called to the eastern Kiri fronts? I hear those are bad. That's where my father went, and my uncle always worries for him…" They both assumed that his parents were shinobi, because he picked up ninjutsu very quickly while most civilian children took longer. At the age of eight, he had already found a natural affinity for futon jutsu.

"No. They died a long time ago," he finally admitted. He put his finished boxed lunch to the side and took his time to look up at his teammate's startled expressions.

Jiraiya's mouth was open, displaying an interesting assortment of semi-eaten food. Tsunade looked as thought someone had punched her about as hard as she usually punched her white-haired teammate.

"We're so sorry!" She wailed, "we've been so insensitive, we didn't know you were an orphan!"

"Wait, you moved closer to the training grounds a while ago. Does that mean you have your _own place_?" Jiraiya wondered, looking slightly fascinated, "I mean, it sounds like it would be pretty cool to eat whatever you like and not have to clean your room…" The blond girl reached over and punched him.

"It's fine, Tsunade," Orochimaru replied, "from what you've both told me, having parents around seems almost as troublesome."

His two teammates both seemed a little guilty for having given him that idea. Despite how much he complained about them, Jiraiya still got homesick every time they had a mission that took more than a day, and Tsunade was content to wait hours by the village gates to see her father when he came back from missions. Even with all the power of their eight-year-old brains, neither of them could imagine their solitary teammate's life.

**Omake - Orochimaru's Student**

"What's she like?" Tsunade began, leaning forward on her elbows. An empty plate lay discarded on the table beside her. She sat across from him on a table in a small dango place owned by a civilian and a retired kunoichi. Since it was so early, they were the only customers present.

"Do you not have better things to do?" Orochimaru asked, raising an eyebrow at his teammate, "why don't you go bother that pervert? I heard he returned from his A-rank yesterday."

"I've already met his," she explained, "now I want to know all about _yours_. Anyone who's caught your eye is bound to be interesting."

"She's talented. She has a good eye for numbers, which is a sufficient display of intelligence," he conceded, "that's all you need to know."

"That's high praise from you," Tsunade observed. She took one of the empty dango sticks from her plate and twirled it, "now I'm even more excited to meet her. I though you were dead set against it?"

"Sensei convinced me that I should 'widen my horizons'. I decided to try it, and if I'm going to do this, then I'll do it correctly." He replied dryly, "Speaking of our sensei, his grey hairs are multiplying. You and Jiraiya really stressed him these past few years." He sat back in the seat, slipping his hands into the pockets of his jonin flak jacket.

"I don't recall giving him any trouble," she said airily, "I was a perfect angel. It was you and the baka that painted his hair as grey as it is. Biwako-sensei is getting disappointed because it seems her husband is going to age quickly."

"No trouble?" Orochimaru raised an eyebrow, "I seem to recall him running around for hours trying to find you before training."

"I was a busy girl," she snapped, "it wasn't my fault the hospital kept promoting me. I had responsibilities!"

"Well you can go now, because I'm just as busy. I only have three hours for her before my mission starts and she's usually disappointed when I leave early."

"_Usually_? She's only been with you for two weeks!"

"…and during those two weeks I found it very hard to make time for such things."

"When will she be here anyway?" Tsunade asked, "and why _here_? You hate dango."

"Her family owns this place. She lives upstairs" he explained, gesturing around at the shop they were in, "and it's conveniently close to the training grounds. She left to speak with her old sensei, but she should be here in a few minutes."

At that moment, the door of the shop burst open and their third teammate burst in. Upon seeing Tsunade, he grinned and sat down beside her. "Tsunade-hime! I haven't seen you in a week!"

"What a tragedy."

"So I was wondering-"

"No I will not go to dinner with you," she said dryly, "if you like, you can invite Orochimaru and make it a Team Hiruzen reunion. But you're paying."

"Unfair! There's no mood when he's around, he always stays sober, the stuck-up teme!" The white haired man complained.

"Well, I think that's the point," Orochimaru told him, "Tsunade can't hold her sake, and she needs someone clear-headed to take her home."

"I'll do that!"

"You'll pass out halfway. I'll most likely end up dragging you as well."

"Our celebrations are never very fun for you, are they Orochimaru?" Tsunade laughed.

"No. No they are not," he confirmed. Indeed he just wanted to go back to his study and continue his new research on integrating amphibian cells into humans. But there was a stubborn girl who he had resigned himself to sacrificing part of his day training, and he needed to get her out of his hair first.

"Well," Jiraiya began, "there's an actual reason I came looking for you, hime. Hiruzen-sensei wants to see you in his office, there's some new poison from Suna that he wants you to create an antidote for."

Tsunade nodded, "right after Orochimaru's little mystery arrives," she turned back to the pale man and smirked at his narrowed, purple-lined eyes, "thought I forgot about her?"

"Well, I hoped," he admitted, "fine. You can meet her. But I won't introduce you; you'll have to do that yourself. And it would be nice if you could prevent Jiraiya from talking to her at all. She seems rather impressionable."

Jiraiya watched the conversation, slightly scandalized at what his teammates seemed to be referring to. Then, a slow grin spread onto his face as he sat up from beside Tsunade and slid into the seat next to Orochimaru.

"So," he asked, perverted grin still spread on his face, "what's her name?"

His teammate raised an eyebrow, "you don't need to know. The last thing I need is to be wasting my time filing for restraining orders."

"Of course I do. Who'd have thought the frigid teme would actually find someone he liked…"

Orochimaru looked slightly confused, "well, there were many that I thought were promising."

"Ohoho, I like what I hear," Jiraiya went on, "so what were your expectations in choosing this girl?"

"It didn't have to be a girl," Orochimaru told him, still slightly confused, "the boys that I considered were talented as well. I looked for intelligence, skill, and a promising physical build, as usual."

At this, the white-haired jonin looked slightly taken aback. But he quickly recovered and shrugged, "ah well, at least you're being open about your weird preferences-"

"What is weird about them? Those are perfectly normal requirements."

"-nothing, nothing," he said quickly, "I suppose that given your background, you wouldn't know that it's not very common to…never mind," Jiraiya cleared his throat,

"the important thing is that you've finally started to recognize the marvel that is the female form, even though twenty is a rather late age-"

"Wait, what?"

"-don't be embarrassed, some people are late-bloomers," Jiraiya continued, "if you ever need any advice, just stop by and I'll be glad to help!"

Tsunade leaned her chin into her hands and watched the misunderstanding in amusement. It really didn't help that their pale teammate couldn't spot innuendo if it hit him in the face.

"Yes, well I suppose you have three of your own," Orochimaru said dryly, choosing to dismiss the previous statements as more evidence of his teammate's brain damage, "but you don't seem to be fairing too well with them, I don't think they're very pleased with you..." He vaguely remembered seeing a blond boy run rather quickly out of bathhouses with bucket-shaped marks on his cheeks.

Jiraiya looked insulted, "I take perfect care to please anyone I choose to grace with my presence!" He yelled, his voice echoing through the dango shop, "I'll forgive you for that one, but only because you're not as experienced as me," his anger died down, "and so I shall gladly take your frigid hand and lead you into this new and exciting world!"

"Keep your prose out of conversation, baka," Tsunade added in fondly, trying not to burst into laughter. She looked up at the slight ringing sound that signaled the door of the shop being opened, "um-"

"What do you _mean '_new and exciting world'?" Orochimaru hissed, "I have no idea what you are referring to!"

"Oh don't be shy," Jiraiya waved a hand dismissively, "tell me, what's her size?"

"Size?" The other jonin raised an eyebrow, now thoroughly confused, "what _size_?"

Jiraiya wiggled his eyebrows, "you know," he made vague gestures towards his chest area.

Orochimaru's color went slightly paler, "Jiraiya! She's nine! She doesn't have-"

"Oh _ew_!" The white-haired jonin leaned back with a horrified look, "pedophile! You could at least wait until she grows older for that!" His accusations were loud enough to make a few of the people passing by stop in curiosity.

"_What?-_I have no intentions towards her! I maintain a strictly platonic-!"

"Um…you two-"

"Wait," now Jiraiya was beginning to look confused, "so we're _not _talking about your girlfriend?"

"I chose a student," Orochimaru fumed, "stop jumping to conclusions you perverted fool!" he glared out through his dark hair. His slightly raspy voice had become almost as high, attracting a few more strange looks from the people walking by outside.

The small shop was rather silent for a few minutes, until Tsunade waved at the figure in the open doorway behind them, "um, is that her?" She asked quietly.

Orochimaru felt like sinking into the floor, but slowly turned around to see a familiar purple-haired girl enter the shop. "Yes," he said between gritted teeth, "this is Anko. _Anko, _how long have you been _standing_ there?"

The confused kid came to stand beside his table, scratching the back of her neck, "Um…a while. Orochimaru-sensei…uh….what exactly does he mean by _size_? And wait until I grow older for _what_? A new jutsu?"

"Yeah, it's a pretty cool…er…technique," Jiraiya smirked, "this stuck-up teme probably won't teach you though." He seemed to be having fun with this. Orochimaru was simply dreading the time she would look back on this day and realize what they had _actually _been talking about.

"Sounds awesome!" Her eyes lit up, "Orochimaru-sensei, you have to teach me one day. Wait…uh…who _is _this person?"

Tsunade frowned, wondering if it would be better to step in and try to save the new sensei from embarrassment. More importantly, it would be nice to save the poor kid from embarrassment when she grew up and realized what she'd said.

"This person is my former teammate, Jiraiya," the future snake sannin hissed with narrowed eyes, "you won't need to worry about what he said. In fact, it would be nice if you could completely forget about it, because he won't be around for much longer."

**ooooo**

**Yashagoro is Orochimaru's birthname from Jiraiya Goketsu Monogatari. Tagoto is a girl that the Orochimaru in the story liked (well, tried to kidnap. Same thing, really). Though I haven't actually read the story (fellow Naruto-fan told me), so don't take my word for it.**

**So my cowriter started a new fic under her own penname, and it's absolutely amazing! It's called 'Fifteen Million Ryo', and her new penname is Riya3. I couldn't stop laughing through the second chapter, so I completely recommend it! I put this under the AN in the previous chapter too, but that was a halfway update so many of you probably didn't see it :P Go read it, she's an amazing author and this really shows off her writing!**

**I got this up extra fast! These were flashbacks, except I don't like disrupting the story with them, so I put them in a separate chapter.**

**Review, please ^^!**


	47. The Tale of Jiraiya the Gallant

**Chapter 46 – The Tale of Jiraiya the Gallant**

"Hm. That is rather large." Utakata paused mid-run and regarded the giant object blocking out part of the sky. He turned to Yugito, who had stopped and was jogging on the spot impatiently.

"Hurry up!" She yelled over the rain, "neither of them can perform a jutsu like this, it has to be the work of an opponent."

"No thank you," he said politely, "I think I'd rather stay here and-" Before he could finish the sentence, the blond kunoichi had an iron grip on his wet arm. She continued running, dragging him along with her.

"They could be in danger," she said sharply without missing a breath even at their speed, "we have to help them."

"They are…the two…Sannin," he panted, "and we're _tired. _What are _we _supposed to do against _that_?" It was all he could do to not trip over his feet while they ran.

"As charming as I find your pessimism, we are _Jinchuuriki_," she stressed, "I'm aware that your seal is slightly weaker due to your age during the sealing, but if it comes to it I'm sure you can find the chakra to fight."

From within his cage, Saiken was looking at Yugito while radiating waves of jealousy. _What a nice human, _he observed, _a good Jinchuuriki if I ever saw one. _

Utakata looked up at the giant meteor tiredly. "But-"

"It's even more charming that you think I'm giving you a choice," she deadpanned.

He sighed and allowed her to pull him along.

ooooo

_Can't…much…longer…._

Tsunade struggled to draw out more of the chakra in her seal and kept her elbows above her head. The giant meteor that bore down on her was quickly bearing down, and her muscles were strained to their limits.

She had immediately run to the elevated ground of a tall hill to hold off the rock, seeing as that would give Jiraiya some light and breathing space for whatever he was trying to prepare for. Around her, the pipes that had already been crushed were strewn about, and her feet sunk into the damp ground. In the distance, Madara was watching her. It was as if he was evaluating her, seeing how much she could do before she collapsed.

It had been over a minute and Jiraiya was nowhere in sight. Maybe his plan had failed, maybe something had gone wrong. In that case, he would die there with her…

With renewed determination, she dragged more chakra out of her seal and managed to keep the large meteor above her head. If his plan had failed, then he would run like she had told him. From where he had been standing, it would take him five minutes to get out of range. No matter what, she had to give him those five minutes.

"Tsunade-san!"

The voice was feminine, but deep. It came from the base of the hill she stood on. Tsunade didn't have the energy or the concentration to turn around and risk losing her grip.

She almost lost her hold on the rock when she began to hear explosions go off behind her. Almost at once, a large flurry of bombs erupted and the meteor paused just briefly, allowing her to push it up by a centimeter. It was a small victory that would only buy them a few seconds, but each one of those seconds was one more chance for Jiraiya to escape.

In that time, the voice had appeared in front of her, and Tsunade's eyes widened at the familiar blue-haired woman. Half of her body was gone, with various paper squares joining the gap where her Akatsuki cloak ended. She flew in the air on paper wings, just slightly below the meteor and on level with the ground below the hill.

_No!_

It was Konan, the woman who had been with Nagato. If she was here to aid the Edo Tensei in finishing them off…but there was something about the distraught look in her eyes that made Tsunade pause.

"The apartments are directly south of here," the woman told her in a strained voice.

Tsunade couldn't spare the concentration to speak. It seems that Jiraiya's other student was worried about the Ame citizens who would die because of this…but she was already weakened, and it took all she had just to keep from collapsing. The slow pressure that the meteor put on her took all she had to fight. Did she even have the chakra to try?

_I'm sorry…_

Suddenly, the bombings started again, still behind her and to the South. It seemed that…she was trying to…

"Please, you cannot allow them to die. They are my people." Her voice was near breaking, and flurries of paper left her form even as she spoke. They fluttered as they went, revealing paper bomb seals inked on their sides.

Narrowing her eyes in understanding, Tsunade braced herself with her knees. The lines of her Souzou Saisen began to recede from her face, disappearing back into her seal. If she wanted to do this, she couldn't afford to waste any chakra healing her self, it all had to go towards the hits. The small diamond on her forehead glowed as she slowly let go with one hand, supporting the entire meteor with the other.

"I have called every paper bomb I have," the blue-haired woman spoke again, "they will hold it up for two minutes, and maintain pressure towards the south." Her voice was slightly calmer when she saw the look of determination in the Slug Sannin's eyes. She knew that Jiraiya's teammate would help her.

Tsunade nodded and felt the pressure bearing down on her ease slightly as deafening explosions went off behind her, presumably against the surface of the black rock. She clenched her retreated hand into a fist, and coated it with chakra. Then she swung it upwards, gritting her teeth as it made a hard crash against the black stone. The pure wave of pressure dispersed through the meteor, moving it slightly.

"Take…Jiraiya," she managed, "get him…out. You must…go…too"

She frowned, "you can throw this off, can you not?"

Tsunade wanted to laugh. Throw off this giant meteor with only a mere sixth of her former chakra reserves? She had only been planning to deflect it slightly, so that it would not land too far south into the residential areas.

But Konan had taken her silence for an affirmative, "thank you, Tsunade-san. I did not see Jiraiya-sensei on the way here, I assume he is still underneath the meteor, maybe slightly west of here. He will be safe."

_No, you little fool! I can't destroy this, go while you still can! _But she couldn't talk anymore; her teeth were clenched too tightly.

The explosives continued, and the slightly relieved look on Konan's face almost haunted her. Tsunade drew her fist back once more and sent another shattering punch through the meteor that reverberated into the ground she stood on. Her feet sunk further into the ground, and she only hoped that the surface below would not give out before the one above.

With a third punch, she realized that her arm, which held off the meteor with chakra, was now significantly straighter. She braced her legs and put her other fist against the rock, now pushing upwards with all her strength.

_I can…do this. _She forced herself to forget about everything else, and focus on simply stopping the threat that was above her. The bombs were a constant sound in the background, keeping the meteor raised. _As long as I have…any chakra…_

She drew out more, feeling the pangs of depletion. But the rock rose by a mere fraction, and it served as fuel to her determination. Tsunade drew both hands back, and the meteor hesitation to crash down only because of the bombs behind her. With one cry she struck the meteor with all the chakra her fists could handle.

For a moment, the rock simply stopped, and there was absolute silence around her. Then, with a large groan, cracks began to appear on its surface, and gaping lines started to spread. Now that it had stopped, she could focus on breaking it. She punched it again and watched in satisfaction as one piece of the large meteor broke apart into hundreds of smaller black boulders.

The paper bombs intensified. They pushed away the large rock piece heading to crash into the south, instead drawing it to the east. On the ground below her, Konan's shoulders dropped visibly in relief. She looked up with sincere gratitude, and Tsunade caught what she did not say with words. She and Nagato knew.

The rocks rained down on her, but she was too tired to do anything but fall to her knees and allow Konan's paper bombs to shatter them before they reached her. That amount of explosives…she didn't know where they had come from, but they were enough to bring down a small post town. Jiraiya's students really could not be underestimated.

A firm hand from fell on her shoulder, and she looked up wearily to see a face framed by unruly white hair. For some reason, he hadn't run. He wasn't even in his sage mode anymore; the two old toads had gone.

"Idiot," she panted, barely able to get the words out, "why are you here? Why didn't your plan work? Why didn't you run?"

"I'll make it work soon," Jiraiya replied, "when I saw that you were about to be crushed, I realized that we needed to get rid of the meteor before dealing with Madara. Konan-chan seems to have helped with that," he nodded to the blue-haired woman below the hill.

"And now…you know how to deal with Madara?" She asked, slightly hopeful.

"Yes, I'm confident," he muttered.

They both stilled when they saw a familiar presence approach them from the distance. Jiraiya quickly stepped in front of her, and gestured for Konan. His student immediately spread her paper wings and flew up to stand by them.

Madara didn't look nearly as disappointed as they had hoped. His eyes, with their black sclera were calculating, watching them as he walked closer. He stopped at the base of the hill and looked up at the two Sannin and the one Akatsuki member.

"Impressive," he looked towards Tsunade, "although it seems to have tired you."

In that moment, they all noticed something strange. Even though the meteor had been broken, their surroundings were stilled dimmed, and the rain did not continue to fall down on them. Tsunade slowly looked up, and her eyes widened. She barely noticed when Jiraiya reached down to slip his arms behind her back and knees, lifting her up.

Madara crossed his arms over his chest. "What will you do about the second one?" He asked.

ooooo

"Damn it, there's another one," Yugito said sharply. She let go of Utakata's kimono sleeve, allowing the taller man to double over. Only seconds ago, large pieces of rock had come flying their way, and it had seemed that the meteor had been destroyed. But now another black object was blocking out the sky, and she could vaguely make out Jiraiya's long white hair in the distance.

"What exactly…do you…expect me to…do?" He panted. The constant rain ran down his face, merging evenly with sweat. After a few more seconds of trying to regain his breath, he finally straightened. "I'm trying not to die here," he informed her matter-of-factly, "my student will be disappointed if I don't keep my promise."

"You…have a student?" Yugito asked absently, still evaluating the meteor that would be down in a few seconds.

"Yes," he said, "her name is Hotaru. If I don't get back she'll spend her entire life waiting for me, and the world would have lost a great potential kunoichi." He was making light of the situation, of course. After all, the fate of time depended on this, and if the reset happened there was no telling if Hotaru would still be there to teach.

She wordlessly grabbed his blue kimono sleeve again and pulled him into another run, this time towards the elevated surface that Jiraiya stood on, surrounded by what looked like a myriad squares of paper. They ran over the tops of the crushed metal that once resembled pipes.

"Jiraiya-sama!" She yelled as they reached the base of the hill. The white haired Sannin looked around briefly, and seemed to melt in relief. Tsunade was in his arms, looking up at the second meteor with a shocked expression. Beside them was a tall woman with blue hair and paper wings extending from her back. At first, Yugito stilled upon seeing her Akatsuki cloak, but Jiraiya seemed to find no danger in standing close to her. The two Jinchuuriki ran up to stand beside the Sannin and the Akatsuki woman.

"It's another Edo Tensei," Yugito remarked, looking on at Madara's form.

"I have no more paper bombs," the Akatsuki woman said quietly, "but…the apartments…"

Jiraiya turned to give her a smile, "it's alright, Konan-chan. Yugito-chan and Utakata-san will take it from here. I need you to come with me and hime."

"Take it from here?" Utakata asked in a slightly strained voice, "you won't help-"

"B-san will be here in a minute," he replied, "you'll have help. All you have to do is push away the meteor, I'll take care of Madara."

"Leave it to us, then," the blond kumo kunoichi said firmly, "and watch over Tsunade-sama," she shot the older woman a worried look, but Tsunade's eyes were still fixed on the sky.

The toad sage nodded and turned, gesturing for Konan to follow. She shot one last apprehensive look at the large rock above and raised her wings to fly after him.

Utakata sighed and turned to Yugito, "the things I've gotten myself into…" He watched as she began to glow with blue chakra, "how are you going to do this? We do not have Tsunade-sama's strength."

"I can perform a full bijuu transformation," she replied, "I'll hold it off until B-san arrives. You may use Matatabi's form as a hold in your Version One if I need backup."

He nodded, only partially understanding. But Madara's figure was standing only dozens of meters away, and there was no time to explain anything. Utakata watched as Yugito's form began to change and grow, and eventually he had to step back when she exuded monstrous quantities of chakra. He watched in amazement as the form of a giant blue Demon Cat began to emerge. It was exactly like what B had done all those years ago during Orochimaru's invasion of Konoha.

_This is the true power of a jinchuuriki, _Saiken told him, _pay attention, because maybe one day you can dream of doing it too. _

_It's really not the time to be thinking of that right now, _Utakata pointed out, _since it's clear that I won't actually be able to help her in any way. _He ran one hand through his wet brown hair, shaking water out of it. It surprised him that he wasn't nearly as worried as he expected to be, but he supposed that was because he had grown to have ridiculous amounts of faith in these people.

_Well, you won't need to worry about being useful. Look to your right, _the Slug told him.

The former Kiri nin looked to the side where his bijuu indicated. He slowly smiled as he saw who was approaching at a run. Now here was another person who he had all too much confidence in. He seemed a little worse for wear, but he looked like he would have at least enough chakra to help them with their task.

"Let me in, Yugito!" The other Jinchuuriki of Kumo yelled out, "Killer B is here, kono yaro!"

ooooo

"It would be nice, I think, if you didn't tell them that I tried to kill you. Well, more than nice, really."

Orochimaru turned to look at Nagato's paralyzed and thoroughly soaked form beside him. He looked into his eyes, but he couldn't read anything there. Pein-sama simply kept staring at him. He sighed and went back to regarding his reflection in the water of the pond.

Going back to Konoha like Tsunade wanted him to wouldn't work, not in the long run. His features would eventually change completely, and there wasn't a jonin in the village who wouldn't be able to recognize him with a single glance. The raindrops from above created ripples in the pond, but they weren't enough to hide the purple marks around his eyes, or the high cheekbones, or the long hair that he had grown out while patiently ignoring Jiraiya's comments that he looked like a girl.

"Although I suppose you'll tell them anyway. That's fine, too. My two teammates are idiots, you see. They'll forgive me anything, and they'll drag me back no matter how far I run. At one point, the most logical thing to do is to stop trying and just let them do as they wish. They're more alike than they'll ever know."

At that moment, he looked aside, and noted the reflections of two other approaching figures by the pond. He turned sharply, eyes narrowed, but relaxed at the absence of Akatsuki cloaks.

One of the figures was familiar. Very familiar. A rather plain, dark-haired woman wearing a short black kimono and netted undershirt. He quickly flipped through his memories and identified her as Katou Shizune, the young niece of Tsunade's former lover.

The other one was an unfamiliar young man who wore a curious hitai-ite that resembled that of the Nidaime Hokage. Orochimaru tried to look for his face in his memories, but came up blank. The look of absolute horror – more so than Shizune – that the young man was exuding, however, indicated that he had indeed been a familiar person once.

"O-orochimaru?" Shizune breathed. She took one look at him, and then at the thin, red-haired man behind him with the unmistakable eyes, and was thoroughly confused.

"Katou Shizune," he nodded, standing up and trying to look as dignified as possible amid the wet clothes that stuck to his thin form, "Tsunade brought you along?" He had no idea why. Shizune was a formidable iryounin, but she was completely unsuited to missions like this.

She nodded hesitantly, and her gaze flitted to the sword in his hand and the green-cloaked figure behind him, "what…are you doing here?" A couple of senbon appeared under her sleeves.

Orochimaru spared a brief glace for the senbon, remembering that this was Tsunade's first student, and one of the most skilled poison specialists in the Five Countries. With only Kusanagi, there was a chance that he would be no match for even her in combat. "It seems that I'm now helping my old teammates kidnap Pein-sama," he explained. Those words tasted strange in his mouth, almost bittersweet.

"Helping?" She paused, and the senbon slowly disappeared. Her guard, however, remained up, "how can I trust what you say? You betrayed my shishou."

"I suppose she forget to tell you that I once asked her to come with me," he told her, "skilled iryounin were hard to find. As for how you can trust me…I'm no danger to you. My tenketsu have been injured," he held out one arm, inviting her to see for herself. She watched him warily, still glancing at Kusanagi in his other hand. He sighed and dropped the blade, holding both arms out. The very sight of his unnaturally pale skin in the rain made him wince, remembering that his body was now completely unsuited to _any _form of combat.

Seeing that, she quickly stepped closer and placed her palm over his hand, allowing it to glow green. She concentrated for a moment, and then her eyes widened, "you're…right. How did they do this?"

"Tsunade seemed to know," he replied, "but I am not well versed in iryounin-jutsu. I woke up like this once they brought me here. Who's this?"

Since they had arrived, the young man who had come with her had not taken his eyes off him for a second. Rather startling eyes too. Orochimaru tilted his head, analyzing them. They held mix of fear and pure unfairness.

"Ah," he said softly, recognizing the look, "I don't know your name, but I know who you probably are. One of the survivors, right? You seem to be around the right age."

"Survivors?" Shizune's eyes widened, and she turned to regard the brown-haired man standing behind her, "Yamato-san, don't tell me you were…"

"Did it work?" Orochimaru pressed on. The man wasn't exuding killing intent, exactly, so he may as well get the results of his long and tiring experiments, "which one were you? Underwater? Plant? Animal? Bloodline? The bloodline ones were interesting; it was unfortunate that they had the lowest survival rate."

"You…" Yamato breathed, "you…were…" he seemed unable to speak. He had never been the kind to seek revenge, and after that nightmare had ended he'd only hoped he would never see the snake sannin again.

"I apologize for that," the snake sannin replied. He truly was trying to be earnest, for his own sake at least, but it came out sounding more condescending, "but at this point we should let the past stay there. There are greater things for you to worry about."

Shizune stepped back trying to rub calming circles into Yamato's arm. She knew the symptoms of shock well, and they couldn't afford that now, "calm down," she told him softly, "somehow, he's helping us. And we need to find Tsunade-sama."

"She's going to die," Orochimaru informed them. He crossed his arms over his wet shirt.

Shizune stilled, horror building up inside her. She turned to look at him slowly.

"You don't need to look at me like that," he told her quietly over the rain, "she was my…friend for far longer than she was your shishou. But right now she's facing Uchiha Madara, and that person cannot be defeated."

Hearing that, Shizune almost collapsed in relief, "Tsunade-sama will not be beaten by anyone," she said confidently, "as long as she's still alive…"

"It is the _reanimation _of a shinobi who only Senju Hashirama was _ever _able to fight," Orochimaru stressed, "and shinobi back then had many powerful suicide jutsu in their hands."

Yamato slowly pushed down all his fear and reached over to rub calming circles into Shizune's arm with his thumb. It seemed like she needed it more. "Where…is Jiraiya-sama?" He managed to ask.

"He's gone with her," Orochimaru replied. As soon as he had said it, his eyes focused on something behind them, "or…maybe not."

Shizune and Yamato both turned sharply to see two figures approaching in the distance; Jiraiya, and a woman in an Akatsuki cloak who flew on strange looking wings. The toad sage held Tsunade in his arms.

The woman in the Akatsuki cloak approached first, and Shizune attempted to defend herself, but noted that she flew right past, instead landing near Nagato's still form. She looked up to give Orochimaru a knowing look, which he returned with a glare.

"Tsunade-sama!" Shizune rushed to her shishou's form as Jiraiya came closer to where they were gathered at the pond, "are you alright? What happened?"

"I'm…fine," Tsunade managed. She put a hand on Jiraiya's shoulder, and he slowly let her down, "I'm just a little spent. There's no time to waste." She looked up, and then turned sharply to her teammate, "Jiraiya, you left Orochimaru with Nagato!?"

The white-haired man raised his hands in mock surrender, looking too unworried, "he's fine, isn't he?" He pointed out. She turned to narrow her eyes at Nagato, but she found nothing wrong with him. It seemed that their former teammate had somehow refrained from killing the man.

"Anyway," Jiraiya went on, looking towards Shizune and Yamato, "why are you two here? Where have Kakashi and Naruto gone?"

Shizune bit her lip, "Uchiha Madara has gone after Sasuke, who is on a mission. The new boy on Kakashi-san's team came to give them the location, and they both went with him."

Tsunade frowned, "Whoever they went to fight is not Madara. I just fought that man, and I'm sure it was him." The way he had spoken, the way he had fought, it was unmistakable.

There was a moment of silence, filled with nothing else but the sound of rain falling on the pond behind them. Jiraiya, Konan, and Nagato shared a knowing look, but everyone else seemed purely confused, though with an underlying feeling of foreboding.

"Uchiha Obito," Konan finally spoke, "that was his name, once. But he abandoned it, and instead goes by Madara, the name of his 'shishou'." She stood up from her kneeling position, Nagato had silently indicated for her to reveal the information, "We do not know many of his abilities."

At this, Yamato went pale. The name caused alarms to go off in his head as he remembered the tale that had circulated about the anbu Hound. He opened his mouth to speak, but realized that there was nothing they could do.

Jiraiya nodded grimly, "Kakashi will face him, there is nothing else we can do at this point. Judging on how long ago they left, you won't arrive on time even if you left now."

"If there's ever been a time for Yugito's speed, this is it," Tsunade muttered, "but I know the strength of that meteor well. It will take both her and B's efforts to stop it." She paused, "but Naruto is there, and if anyone can do miracles, it's that kid."

"What happened with your fight?" Orochimaru questioned, turned to look at the large meteor in the sky where they had come from, "where is Madara?" He had only vague recollections of anyone named Obito, and the pressing issue of defeating Madara seemed to be more important at the moment.

"I'm going to go take care of him," Jiraiya explained, "I just came to see hime to safety first."

"And what are you going to do to him?" Orochimaru asked dryly, "stare him to a second death?"

"Well actually I was thinking of taking you with me," he joked, "you could give him one of your pedophile glares and he'd run for the hills."

"Jiraiya!" Tsunade exclaimed in exasperation, "is this really the time? We have _seconds_ at most!" Now that they were back in the rain, her hair was soaked again and the blond strands ran down her face. Jiraiya reached out and took both her hands, bringing them up and turning them over in his palms.

"Look," he said softly, running his fingers over her knuckles.

She looked down and stilled at the various scratches all over her hands. Stilled at the sight of the thin layer of blood covering them. Shizune started to go and cover her shishou's hands, but Yamato held her back. Orochimaru watched in silence, and Nagato's concentric eyes were focused on his former sensei.

"It's ok," Jiraiya went on, "none of it was your fault. You told me that your mistakes were with what you didn't do, but I'd like to think that people shouldn't think of it that way," he grinned, "I mean, if I counted all the things _I_ didn'tdo, I would just depress myself."

She didn't reply. The words barely registered over the shock of seeing blood.

"I've always wanted to tell you that," the toad sannin went on, "the part about you, that is. Not about me depressing myself."

When the realization hit, Tsunade looked up with wide eyes. The blood was almost completely pushed out of her mind.

"Take care of Orochimaru," he told her, looking aside to glance at the snake sannin, "our old teammate is still somewhere in there, but he still needs a good punch or ten."

Orochimaru crossed his arms, but he couldn't bring himself to spit out another snide remark like usual. Not when he'd finally understood what Jiraiya was about to do. He cursed himself for creating Madara's Edo Tensei, and went ahead and cursed his teammate for having the courage to be such a damned honorable shinobi.

"...and help my students rebuild their village, Madara's done a good number on it. This place might make us all look like drowned rats, but they really love it. They always have."

"Jiraiya, you can't-"

"Yes, I can," he replied sternly, "I haven't succeeded very often. I was never able to bring Orochimaru back, I failed three of my students, and you always rejected me." He paused, "but any man that doesn't learn to laugh at rejection is worthless as a man anyway. I think I'd like to go out in the same ways of the great shinobi of history."

"But-"

"Hime, I'm a fuuinjutsu master, and I trained one of the greatest space-time ninjutsu users in history. I suspected this would happen the moment that Naruto told me about my death," Jiraiya said matter-of-factly, "I want to stay here and tell you the rest…but I'd rather not risk having Madara go after our Jinchuuriki before I have the chance. It's fine, Tsunade, maybe some things are too resilient."

"I don't care about the resilience of time!" She protested, "I care about-"

"There's no other way to defeat him. You know that."

"Jiraiya I can't just let you-"

"You're staying here, hime," he smiled, "Konoha needs its next Hokage, after all."

With that, he leaned down to kiss her forehead, and let go of her hands. The two other Sannin watched as he walked away in the rain, headed back towards Uchiha Madara.

ooooo

"Let's go, baka yaro!" The giant octopus yelled, flexing tentacles against the giant rock pressing down, "one…two…now, Yugito!"

Utakata watched as the meteor above slowly rose up instead of coming back down. The Demon Cat's blue chakra coated it, surrounded on all sides by the purple tentacles of Gyuki. The rock heaved and slowly gained momentum.

"B-san! I'm loosing grip…" The form of the Demon Cat breathed. Yugito's talons slipped against the rock as it moved away. She had spent too much chakra keeping it in place while waiting for B to arrive.

"I got it!" The other bijuu yelled, slipping closer to the centre of the meteor. With one great push, he sent the large rock flying to one side, away from where they stood. Its speed as it shot into the sky was enormous, and at this rate it would probably crash well into the northeastern side of the village wall, away from the people and from the central area of the village.

As the form above them moved away, the rain fell back down, sloshing off the top of the thrown rock and crashing into them in large waves of water. Utakata spluttered as it hit him, and ran forward just in time to catch Yugito as she transformed out of her Bijuu state and came flying down the hill. He steadied her until she could stand upright herself.

"B-san," she gasped, "he strained himself too much…" Without another glance, she turned and ran back up the hill, pulling him along with her. His feet slipped in the water below but he made an effort to keep up with her. After all, the Edo Tensei was there, and they couldn't let B face him while injured.

When they reached the top, Yugito immediately rushed to B's side. The other Kumo nin looked worse for wear. His dark skin was mottled with large bruises that had carried over from his bijuu transformation. More worryingly, some of the hits were beginning to bleed. She slipped one of his arms over her shoulder and pulled him up onto his feet.

"I'm ok…baka yaro," B managed, "where's the…opponent, kono yaro?" He shot one glance down at Yugito's wet shirt, and somehow managed to find the energy to leer.

"Jiraiya-sama will deal with him," Yugito reported, deciding to ignore the look just once. She turned to Utakata and waved him over with her other arm, "come help me." Her legs didn't look like they could hold up both of their weights.

He nodded and rushed to B's other side, slipping an arm around the other man's waist and wincing when some of the blood seeped into his blue kimono, "we have to take him to Tsunade-sama. Even as a Jinchuuriki, there's only so much he could do with this much blood loss…"

"No, we need to find that other woman, Shizune," Yugito told him sharply, "Tsunade-sama is…not good with blood.

At that moment, they all realized that there was another person slowly coming up the hill. The three Jinchuuriki looked up and froze. In their shock, they didn't notice the other person coming up from behind them.

Uchiha Madara somehow managed to look just as intimidating, even with his wet hair plastered against half his face. "That was also impressive," he said calmly, "but you are too tired."

"I can fight, kono yaro!" B made a valiant effort to dislodge himself from Yugito's grip. He slipped, and if they hadn't caught him he would have fallen face-first into the ground.

"You may count yourself lucky that the boy's Edo Tensei orders do not require me to kill you, as well," Madara went on. "Move aside. The one I need stands behind you."

Utakata turned sharply, and breathed in relief at the sight of the toad sannin, "Jiraiya-sama!" He called, "will you really be able to take this Edo Tensei? Yugito and B are tired, and I do not know how much help I will be."

Jiraiya smiled at him, but it was not his usual wide grin, "it's fine, Utakata-san. Take your teammates to Tsunade-hime, she'll heal them."

Yugito furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, "don't you mean Shizune-san? B-san has some superficial injuries on his arms-"

"Take him to Tsunade," he said again, more firmly, "she'll heal him."

Utakata nodded silently and pulled the man he was supporting backwards, allowing Jiraiya to step up in front of them. Yugito sighed and went along, shooting nervous glances back. Neither of them knew exactly who the Edo Tensei was, but the fact that he had been able to perform such a powerful jutsu was worrying.

When they left the hill, Jiraiya turned back to Uchiha Madara, "you were a powerful shinobi in your day," he told him, "but there's one area where I can best even you."

"Oh?" Madara walked closer, until there were barely three meters in between them, "the nameless failed sage that appeared with Hashirama's grandchild?"

"Well," Jiraiya paused, "I do have a name. And you'll want to know it soon." He crossed his arms over his chest confidently, not exuding the slightest hint of fear.

"Why would I need to know the name of someone like you?" The red chakra of the Susano'o began to coat Madara's form, slowly rising upwards, "you are insignificant. Better than most, but that does not say much."

Jiraiya took a deep breath. This was the moment he had been silently preparing for during the past six years. It had scared him a little at first, but he had made sure to do all he needed to. He had trained Uzumaki Naruto, the boy who would one day fulfill the prophecy. He had brought his teammate and friend back, and he _knew _Orochimaru was still the intelligent but lonely boy he used to be. He had finally gotten his Tsunade to look at him like she used to look at that nut-head Dan, the sort of look that went even beyond the mere liking that he had once strived for. The only other thing a shinobi could really ask for was to die an honorable death. With that, he slowly put his hands together and his fingers began the seal sequence that he had once learned from his sensei.

Snake. Boar. Ram.

"What are you doing?" Madara asked, "a last resort? I know many suicide jutsu, and this does not seem to be among them."

Rabbit. Dog. Rat.

His hands moved almost lazily and he poured chakra into the seal, never taking his eyes off the opponent.

Madara reached up to push his long dark hair away from his face, and the full form of Susano'o towered above him once again. "I have always fought fairly," he said, "I will see this last resort you intent to use against me, and allow you to show your strength before you die."

Jiraiya didn't respond. His concentration was too high, and he had to save his words for the important part, anyway.

Bird. Horse. Snake.

Noting that his hands seals were finished, Madara raised one arm, prepared to fight against whatever he drew out. "Go, Susano'o!" The great humanoid form lowered its arms, prepared to crush the opponent who stood in front of him.

Jiraiya clapped his hands twice.

Seeing that, the Edo Tensei paused, Susano'o stopping mid-attack, finally realizing what had happened. When he spoke, his voice was grim and shook slightly, betraying more than his calm expression showed, "so there are still shinobi alive able to use that," Madara observed.

"Shiki Fuujin," he said softly. As the figure of the Death God rose behind him, Jiraiya saw the fear rise in Uchiha Madara's eyes.

"Who…are you?"

"I knew you'd ask me that," he said matter-of-factly, slipping into his signature pose and holding one arm out in front of him. It was always more epic when he did it on Bunta's head, but this would do. "Weak against women but strong against shinobi, sage of Mount Myoboku and the Legendary Toad Sannin, Jiraiya-sama!" He grinned.

_Yep, pretty damn honorable…pretty damn honorable..._

**ooooo**

**This marks the end of the Ame Invasion Arc. **

**On that note, if you want to see more of my cowriter's amazing writing (when it's not being drawn down by my wordiness), check out her new fic Fifteen Million Ryo. I mean, have you ever read a fic where every single sentence seems so perfectly placed? This is one of them.**

**Thanks for reading! Next chapter should be up soon, and leave some feedback ^^!**


	48. Behind the Mask

**Note: the previous chapter is _not _background (despite the chapter title), it is an actual chapter! If you have not read it, please do so first!**

**Chapter 47 – Behind the Mask**

Maito Gai was not someone who did things with moderation. He preferred to put his heart and soul into everything he attempted, and gladly received the mock cynicism that the Hip and Cool people threw his way. As the blue sweat radiated off his body, he was certain that his opponent, Hogikashi Kimase, knew that well.

"It…wasn't a ninjutsu, was it?" The blue skinned man lying on the water below him made out, "it was…"

"A punch," Gai told him. He stood with one leg on either side of the Akatsuki member, "only a punch." The blue sweat evaporated, giving him what looked like an aura of chakra.

"It is…rare for someone…to reach your level of…taijutsu," he said again. As he spoke, his arms slowly disappeared below the water, along with his legs, and the bottom of the Akatsuki cloak. Kisame looked past Gai's dark-skinned face to the heavy grey clouds above, wondering if they would be the last things he saw.

"Indeed," Gai replied, crossing his arms over his chest, "we will take you to find out more about this Akatsuki organization. I will not let you-" Before he could finish the sentence, pain erupted in his body. He had used the Gates too much for too long, and he couldn't keep them open any longer without Sakura there to heal away the muscle tears. He doubled over, and the last thing he saw was Hoshigaki Kisame's relieved look as the rest of his blue-skinned face disappeared into the water.

ooooo

"Done," Sakura retrieved her hand, and allowed the green Shousen to flicker away, "the injuries to your tenketsu are healed. I don't know what exactly you did with that new Sharingan, but it was harsh," she leaned back on her knees on top of the water, eyeing her handiwork. Then she wiped the sweat off her forehead and reached into her bag, withdrawing a soldier pill and popping it into her mouth.

Sasuke took his arm back and flexed it, noting the familiar feeling of chakra running through his tenketsu, "thanks," he looked up, giving her a nod. Then he looked across to the Sandaime Hokage, fighting a few meters away, "this is bad…"

The entire section of the lake that they stood on was disrupted by various pieces of jagged earth jutting up out of the water, the result of the Sandaime's doton jutsu. Nevertheless, the situation was not looking good for him. Hiruzen stood against the Nidaime Tsuchikage, almost completely out of breathe. He was old for a shinobi, and it had been many years since he had been in his prime. He would not last for much longer.

Sakura reached out and nudged his arm, and he turned to look where she was pointing. A distance away, three anbu were carefully lifting Maito Gai's prone body from the surface of the lake.

"No!" His eyes widened, "Gai-sensei!"

"He'll be fine," Sakura told him, "those are the aftereffects of keeping the Gates open for too long. At one point, he was willing to use the Eight Gate against the Edo Tensei if it would defeat him, but not even something like that would stop the regeneration. And he's already used his one-hit from the Seventh Gate thrice. It'll probably be months before he can stand again."

She looked worriedly at the anbu, who were down to five fighting members while the others took care of the injured. It wouldn't be long before the Raikage's Edo Tensei came to their ground. It also seemed that the other Akatsuki member, Kisame, was nowhere to be found.

Sasuke clenched his teeth, "so there is only the two of us and Sandaime-sama against two Kage and an Akatsuki member? This is _bad,_" he stressed, "even sensei cannot go up against those three…"

"It'll work out," Sakura bit her lip and tried to convey her lingering optimism, "even if we can't defeat it…maybe we can make Obito-san deactivate the Edo Tensei. After all, he once almost died for our sensei, didn't he? Something like that must leave an impression…"

"We cannot count on those things," he told her, standing up on unsteady feet, "we must be prepared to help them fight."

Sakura nodded and pushed herself up to stand on the water beside him. The barest hints of a cold wind were starting to blow across the lake, but she didn't shiver. She tied the iryounin kit back onto her waist and looked across at the source of the uneven ripples gliding towards them.

Meters away, Sarutobi Hiruzen landed roughly on his feet, skidding back on the water. He looked across at Enma in his henge staff form, and then at the Tsuchikage, who was preparing another Genkai Hakuri Jinton attack. It seemed like the Edo Tensei never exhausted its chakra, making it even more potent when used with people like Mu who's only weakness was the sheer amount of chakra their jutsu took.

"What have you gotten yourself into?" Enma, the King of Monkeys, stood beside him. His expression was grimmer than usual.

"What can we do, Enma?" Hiruzen asked the summons who was more of a friend. Enma was well versed in battle; if there was anyone who could find a way out of tricky situations, it would be him.

"Run." The king of monkeys stated plainly, "you are getting too old for this, and this Tsuchikage seems to be in his prime." The lower part of his body began to transform into the Adamantine Staff, "I will keep him busy for a while."

"I cannot run," the Sandaime stressed, "there are shinobi here that I must protect, at least until Kakashi arrives. They may be able to hold off that Raikage for a short while since he seems to be holding back, but they will not last against Mu-sama. I must at least take him down with me."

Enma eyed the slowly growing ball of chakra in the Tsuchikage's hands, "you wish to do _that_? Are you sure, Hiruzen?"

He nodded, "if I must. Please go on and keep Mu-sama busy while I prepare it." His own chakra reserves were now pitifully low, and Sai still had no appeared with Kakashi. There was no choice but to go on to use his final resort. With a feeling of dread building up inside him, he brought his hands together for the Snake seal.

The King of Monkeys gave him a sad but understanding look as the rest of his body transformed into the staff. There was no time to speak anymore, so he shot off towards the Edo Tensei.

It was risky in a situation like this, where he had no chakra to spare on protecting himself. However it didn't seem like their reinforcements were going to arrive on time, and his priority was to protect his two jonin and the rest of his anbu squad, and he felt strings of guilt when he glanced around and noted that many of the masked members were badly injured.

He was the Hokage of Konoha, the one who had ruled the longest so far. There was no one else in the village who knew the position better than he did, from the tiring paperwork, to appearing in the academy to smile at the bright new genin faces, to dealing with his three stubborn advisors, to putting his very life on the line. The Sandaime Hokage's fingers proceeded into the Boar seal. The dread transformed into sheer will.

But the Shiki Fuujin required utmost concentration, and that was something he didn't have. Just as his fingers formed the Ram seal, a small body flew into him and his vision was filled with pink hair. They skidded back across the water and the kunoichi holding him down shuddered when Mu's Genkai Hakuri no Jutsu flew above their heads, creating a powerful shockwave that pushed them further into the water.

Hiruzen gave up on preserving the sequence of hand seals that he had begun, mainly because his right arm didn't seem to be moving properly. He turned his head to the side, out of the water. The weight on top of him slowly lifted, and he stared questioningly at Haruno Sakura, who was wiping her wet forehead and panting harshly.

"That was too close," she panted, "if I had gotten there seconds later-" She suddenly froze when she saw his arm.

The Sandaime barely noticed the waves of pain that flowed through him. His unasked questions were answered when he looked behind her.

The fight that his anbu team had been holding up seemed to be finished. The blue-skinned man was gone, and the few who were alive but too injured to be of use were tending to an unconscious Maito Gai, who looked to be in perfect form but probably had various injuries under his skin. The dark-skinned kage who they had been fighting…

He now stood merely a few meters away, with one blue chakra-coated finger held out and dripping with blood. The Sandaime's eyes widened when Mu stepped into position beside his fellow Edo Tensei. Behind the two Edo Tensei stood Uchiha Obito, who still had not raised a finger. Enma retreated back in his staff form to stand in front of Sakura, protecting his summoner and the two jonin.

"They're both here." He turned at the voice behind him to see Uchiha Sasuke standing there, arms crossed over his chest. He looked worse for wear even though his superficial injuries had been healed, and not in any position to fight. Sakura was tired from healing her two teammates and using her doton jutsu in defense.

Wearily, Hiruzen realized that he didn't have the chakra to seal both opponents, and he didn't know how well Kakashi's two students would last if Uchiha Obito stepped into the battle with his Mangekyou Sharingan.

"Sandaime-sama…I'm sorry! If I was only a bit faster…" Sakura fumbled with the medical kit on her waist and collapsed down beside him, dragging bandage cloth out of the pouch. It fell around her in a tangled mess, soaking up the water underneath them.

The Hokage looked down at his arm for the first time, addressing the pain that radiated from it. He frowned when he saw the long gash that looked like it had been done with something blunt and jagged. At this point, the pain barely registered over the dread at how he would be able to continue to protect his shinobi.

"No, I should not have attempted that when there was another opponent to consider," he replied calmly, watching as she skillfully wrapped the bandage even with her shaking fingers, "Haruno Sakura, you cannot waste your chakra on this; you must help your teammates last until reinforcements arrive."

"No," she told him sternly. The gash made by the One Fingered Nukite was completely covered in cloth, but the red slowly leaked through. She merely positioned her hands on top of his arm and activated her Shousen, "if I do not heal this right now, you will no longer be able to perform hand seals. I don't know if I can do it…but I have to try." She shot a sideways glance at Sasuke.

The Uchiha boy gave her a slight nod and stepped around them to stand by Enma, "fine," he said firmly, "let her heal you, Sandaime-sama. I will keep them off, along with this…animal…thing…" He shot a curious look at his Hokage's Summons, who he had never seen before. Unlike most summons, which were distinctly animal, this one had some human features.

Enma turned red, "I'll have you know that I am the King of Monkeys, the Great Enma! If I didn't think you had guts I would refuse to fight alongside you!" The fur of his head, which protruded from the staff, stood on end.

Sasuke shrugged and crossed his arms, "ch. You're not refusing, right? Then help me defend Sakura and Hokage-sama." He glared out at the two kage and his sensei's friend, "after all, there's something I want to try." He narrowed his eyes. It was still too early for anything drastic, but he had to show this Uchiha that power was not wasted on him and that the red that swirled into his eyes was more than decoration.

Obito barely acknowledged the reactivation of his Mangekyou Sharingan. He simply raised an arm, commanding the two kage to continue their attack. The Raikage, no longer able to speak, made a conscious effort to hold back, but chakra readily swirled between Mu's hands.

"We have to defend until Hiruzen's reinforcements arrive," Enma told the Uchiha boy who stood beside him.

"I know," Sasuke nodded, "I have a good defense. Add to it if you can."

"Cheeky brat," the Monkey King grumbled, "I feel sorry for whatever poor creature you summon…" Nevertheless, the staff began to grow and morph until its wooden bars spread around them, trapping them in. "This is the adamantine cage," he declared, "no shinobi has ever been able to get past it. Let's see what you can do, boy."

Sasuke simply allowed the red swirls of chakra to appear around him even as he was enveloped in the bars of the cage.

"Susano'o!"

He looked out through the openings of the adamantine cage to see the great humanoid form tower over the four of them. This time, it was no mere skeleton. "These are good eyes, aniki," he whispered to himself, "I'll learn to use them well."

Obito spared a cursory glace when armor began to appear on its form. It was not as strong as Itachi's, but it was complete. Impressive for someone who had just learned to use it. "You learn quickly," he acknowledged, his voice loud enough to echo across the water, "you will be a valuable addition."

"He _won't_ be an addition!" Sakura yelled out from where she was kneeling on the lake. Beneath her hands, the Sandaime smiled at the loyalty of his shinobi. The Uchiha heir had been in his files for years, but he had only vaguely remembered the civilian girl in the academy with the shy smile, and only then because of her eccentric hair color. They'd both come far.

The first jinton jutsu hit the outer shield of the Susano'o, and Sasuke breathed a sigh of relief when it wasn't able to go through. It wore away at the front of the armor, but Susano'o ultimately held. With that, he was able to judge the amount of impact it could take.

"I can last a few more minutes," he yelled back at his teammate, "and maybe this Enma-san can last a few more with the cage."

Sakura nodded, "understood," she looked back down at where her Shousen was rapidly sewing muscle tissue back together, and drops of sweat from her forehead were dripping into the blood-covered bandages. The Hokage merely lay on his back, allowing her to finish. He was a much better patient than Sasuke had been, at least.

"I apologize again, Sandaime-sama," she said quickly, "but why did you not see the Raikage's attack? He's trying to help us, you see, so he's being very direct."

Hiruzen simply smiled, "it was because of the jutsu was I was trying to perform. But no matter, Kakashi will arrive soon."

She paused. "Sandaime-sama…why Kakashi-sensei? It's simply cruel, isn't it? I mean, he goes to stand at that person's memorial almost every day, to suddenly ask him to fight…"

"It may indeed be cruel, but this is the only choice I see," he replied grimly, "Uchiha Itachi was one of the greatest shinobi I'd ever met, and he does not say things without reason."

Sakura merely gave him a tight-lipped nod and and closed her eyes. She prepared to enter the most difficult part of the procedure: re-connecting the tenketsu.

Susano'o lasted almost five minutes before it failed, and Sasuke vaguely recalled that it was about as long as Itachi had been able to keep his. Of course, he had been sick, injured, and almost blind, but the brief thought of accomplishment rose in his mind before the dread followed close behind.

Obito called for the Edo Tensei to stop. He walked forwards slowly, watching Sasuke's face through one Mangekyou eye.

"Not bad," he commented, stopping a few feet in front of the adamantine cage, "you are learning."

"It's nice that you think so," the Uchiha boy responded through gritted teeth. He glanced back to see Sakura's eyes closed in concentration as she healed their Hokage's arm. Beside him, the monkey king was using all his chakra simply to keep the cage active.

"Do not think that this barrier will do anything to protect you if I were to attack," Obito went on, "I will give you one last chance. Come with me, Uchiha Sasuke, and I will teach you the true ways of the Uchiha clan," he held one hand out, to the bars of the cage.

The Hokage's body was taking up too much chakra while healing; Enma was weakening. The adamantine cage would not last, and even if it did, Sasuke did not doubt for a second that Obito's words on being able to get through it were truthful. The brief though of going with him spun into his mind and was quickly smashed to pieces by the piece of Inner Sakura that seemed to live in his head these days. "No," he said, even as the cage disappeared. He slipped one kunai out of his pouch and held it out, "I won't let anyone else have control over Itachi's eyes. If it comes to it I'll destroy them before they fall into your hands."

Obito looked curiously at the kunai, seeming unfazed. "Fine. This is not the only dimension we can fight in," the hand he held out slowly dropped to his side, and the Mangekyou Sharingan spun, taking small vortexes of air with it.

Sasuke froze when his shoulder began to feel strange. He looked down to see that it was swirling somehow, shifting around in ways a shoulder really shouldn't bend. Behind him, Sakura's eyes widened and she made to get up.

"This is Kamui," the masked man told him, "say your goodbyes, we are going to go somewhere else."

Sasuke put a hand on his shoulder, only to find that it, too, seemed to be sucked. It was a discomforting feeling that chilled him, as if he was being pulled into thin air. He wondered if this was the end, and brought the kunai up.

"Sasuke!" Sakura was behind him, pushing him. But nothing she did stopped the weird sucking feeling. She looked over his shoulder and, seeing him bring the blade up to his face, immediately reached over to shove it away as it cut her own hand instead.

"You are not giving up!" She yelled into his ear, "even if you go, I will find you! Even if Obito-san corrupts you like he says he will, I'll drag you back and fix you!" When she stepped back to breath after her outburst, she noticed that his shoulder was no longer insubstantial. It was solid beneath her fingers, and Obito was no longer standing in front of them.

"Well said, Sakura-chan!"

ooooo

Yamato watched the slug sannin quietly, standing by Shizune and not knowing what to do.

"Is he going to come back?" He asked in a whisper.

"No," Shizune whispered back, "he's not." She didn't know exactly what Jiraiya-sama was going to do, but she knew enough to know that he was probably off valiantly sacrificing himself like the honorable idiot he was.

"He…was a good shinobi," was all Yamato could manage. He stood there silently in the rain as they all waited for her to tell them what to do. After a few seconds in which she continued to stare off, Orochimaru stepped up beside her.

"Tsunade," he put on hand on his former teammate's wet shoulder rather awkwardly, only because she used to do the same, "we have to go."

She simply stood there, staring off into the direction in which _he_ had left.

"I not currently strong enough to carry you," Orochimaru said again, trying to control the roughness of his voice, "you were trying to leave Ame, weren't you? I suggest that we do, there are other Akatsuki members around who will try to take Pein-sama back."

"Let them try," a soft voice came from behind him. The snake sannin turned to see Konan watching him. The Akatsuki's sole kunoichi had steel in her look that was not aimed at him, and her perfect hair was finally in disarray. But even with the wet blue strands trailing across the sides of her face, the paper flower crooked in her hair, and the angry look in her eyes, she was unnaturally beautiful.

"I know the weaknesses of each and every one that is left, including Obito-sama," she said again, "if they try to take Nagato, I will destroy them. Let her mourn Jiraiya-sensei in peace." Her face betrayed no emotion, but there was a small twitch in her voice.

"No," Tsunade said firmly, "I don't need any time. I won't let Jiraiya's death go in vain by delaying," she looked up at her other former teammate with determined eyes, and then turned to Shizune, "Shizune, Yamato. You will both be coming with us. We are going to find Naruto and this Obito person. We may not reach in time to help them fight, but we can take care of the injured."

"Who is 'we'?" Orochimaru questioned, stepping back from her. He knew that look; she had finished crying many years ago, just like Jiraiya had. They had lost a lover and a student, and now they knew only to move on and leave everything but the most important things behind. She would never completely recover, that much was evident to him.

Dan's death had shaken her and he had only been in her heart for a few years. Jiraiya had never won her the same way, but he had always been there, as an ever-present entity in her life. Hiruzen had watched her go sadly, but his duties as Hokage had prevented him from intervening. Orochimaru had betrayed them all. But Jiraiya, with his deadly hair and ridiculous antics, would always appear once in a while, just to make sure she never forgot his name.

But even if she didn't recover, she would grow stronger from it, like the muscles she praised herself on which knit tighter ever time they were torn. Orochimaru hadn't felt pride in over ten years, since little Anko had first mastered the summoning of the white snakes, but he felt it now.

"Nagato and I," she told him, "and you as well. I'm not taking my eyes off you, Orochimaru."

"I didn't think so," he sighed. Well, freedom was out of the question, but captivity to Tsunade was better than captivity to Konan-sama. Unlike Konan-sama, his teammate was still unaware of half the things he had done during his years away. If she knew exactly how many people he had experimented on, she wouldn't be nearly as lenient. He already resolved never to tell her.

Konan frowned, looking back at Nagato. The thin man slowly opened his mouth.

"Stay….here," he managed, struggling to fight the waning paralysis, "I will…be…fine," his lips moved into a frown, "if he…comes for…you…don't die, Konan. Stay…alive."

She nodded solemnly, "I will. My jutsu will always be with you, Nagato. You must come back later, the people of Ame still need their god." _And I still need my friend. _

Nagato didn't have the strength to nod, but his response was clear. She stepped back and allowed Shizune to slowly lift him into her arms. The dark-haired iryounin gave her a comforting smile. "I am still not sure what is going on…but we will take care of your friend," she stated.

At that moment, more footsteps approached from the distance, barely audible above the rain. The five of them turned to see three more figures approaching. Yugito's hair and Utakata's bright blue kimono were unmistakable.

"Tsunade-sama!" The other blond kunoichi shifted B's hand further over her shoulder and pulled him forward quickly over the muddy ground. She stopped when she was only meters away from the two Sannin, and pointed to B, who had reddish rain pooling at his feet.

"His back…it's injured," she reported.

"He held off the rock in the sky," Utakata added. He slowly released himself from B's vice like grip and held his arm up, "and his arm is injured from his previous fight."

"It's fine…baka yaro," the Kumo nin managed, choking slightly. Yugito and Utakata both gave him dry looks.

Shizune looked across worriedly at her shishou, wondering what she would say. It had been many years since Senju Tsunade had first decided never to lay eyes on blood. Fortunately, she didn't turn away on sight. Instead, Tsunade beckoned for them to come closer.

"Are you sure, Tsunade-sama?" Yugito asked hesitantly, remembering their fight against Deidara and Sasori. Nevertheless, she took B closer.

"Yugito, we need you to backup Naruto and Kakashi," Tsunade said sharply, "take the coordinates from Shizune and head there as fast as you can possibly go; hold _nothing _back."

The Kumo nin looked slightly confused, but she nodded. Without pause, she slipped out from under B's arm and headed towards Shizune, who mumbled to her the location Sai had given them. After that, all they saw was a blur of yellow that sped away through the rain.

"She never holds anything back," Utakata commented, sighing at the extra weight that was now fully on him, "but where exactly have Kakashi-san and Naruto gone? And who is this?" He looked towards Orochimaru questioningly.

"There's no time to answer," the snake sannin told him, "hand that person over so that Tsunade can heal him."

"Tsunade-sama, can you really?..." Shizune faltered, not knowing whether to step in or leave it to her shishou. Konan stood silently behind her.

The slug sannin was already dragging out the last vestiges of chakra she had left into her palms, "bring him here," she demanded, "Utakata, you will stay here with him when Konan takes him to an Ame hospital for recovery. I am going to heal him."

"Yes," Orochimaru smiled dryly as he watched her stalk towards B with determined eyes, "I suppose you will."

ooooo

"Sorry we're late," Uzumaki Naruto turned to give his two students a blinding smile, "we were all…um…helping cats cross the road."

"In the middle of a forest?" Hatake Kakashi stood up nearby, Raikiri burning out in his hands from where it had passed directly through the masked figure who had been attacking Sasuke. He brushed off his curiously soaking-wet flak jacket, "it has to make _sense_, Naru-kun. Remind me you give you a lesson later on."

"I do not think our Naruto would benefit from learning another method to inconvenience people," a third voice deadpanned. Sakura and Sasuke looked forwards to see a red-robed figure with a gourd strapped to his back standing a few meters away, facing the two Edo Tensei and the masked figure who now stood behind them after retreating.

"Naruto! Sensei!" Sakura exclaimed. She looked up and saw the ink bird they had all leapt down from making circles above. A dark-haired figure was briefly visible as it turned. Beside her, Sasuke almost collapsed in relief. Her face turned grim as she turned to the blond boy, who was closest.

"Naruto, the two dark-eyed ones are-"

"Edo Tensei, yes," he nodded, "who are they? What can they do?"

"The one on the right is the Sandaime Raikage. So far there's no way to defend against his attacks, and his skin seems unbreakable. The second one is the Nidaime Tsuchikage. He uses powerful jinton attacks that take a few seconds to prepare," she reported, "that third one, the one with the orange mask…"

"Uchiha Madara," Naruto said in a strangely serious voice, "yes, we know. Kashi-sensei will deal with him, and I'll help Gaara with the Edo Tensei."

"He's not-"

"Naruto?" Sasuke spluttered, "those are kage!" After keeping Susano'o up for so long, he was barely able to stand but kept himself up. Enma had already been dismissed, and the Sandaime Hokage was unconscious, recuperating from his treatment.

"I know," he shot his teammate a grin, "but I'm a Jinchuuriki, remember? I'm not fighting alone." With that, he sped off to where Gaara was standing, leaving Sakura to pull Sasuke back.

"I'm not sure what's happening…but the reinforcements have arrived," she muttered, "we should focus on recuperating so that we'll be able to help them back to Konoha later on." Three injured anbu members shunshined behind them to tend to the Hokage, and two more came by with Gai's unconscious body. They were in no shape to continue to fight, but they could at least keep the other injured ones above the water level.

Sasuke was standing still, and didn't budge when she tried pulling him back. He simply stared off at where their sensei was joining Naruto and the red-haired boy with the sand gourd in standing against Obito and the two reanimations.

"Sasuke…I can't heal you anymore," she bit her lip, "you don't have any chakra left to fight."

"I know," he said quietly, "I just realized that we have to tell him."

She paused, "tell him?"

"Yes," he said, growing more convinced, "_you_ would want to know, wouldn't you? You would want to know if I was ever corrupted, and betrayed our village to become a missing-nin like Obito-san did. You would want to know because you would at least have the chance to bring me back. That's why we should tell Kakashi-sensei."

Sakura nodded in understanding and let go of his arm, "I see. I suppose your right, then."

Sai's large ink bird landed right beside them and the pale boy swung his legs off, allowing the creature to melt back into the lake. "Sakura-san, Sasuke, who are those people?" Still dressed in Gai-sensei's tights, he made a curious sight against the grey skies.

"Two reanimated kage and Uchiha Obito," Sasuke told him quickly, "the anbu have retreated to tend to the injured and Naruto, sensei, and…" he squinted, "maybe that red-haired one is the boy we saw at our chunin exams. That large gourd is familiar."

"Yes, it's him. I think his name is Gaara," Sakura nodded, "but for now we have to find a way to get to Kakashi-sensei."

"Ch. At least the dobe is here to help us with that."

"We can't rely on him for this one," she stressed, "he's going to have his hands full if he's really planning on facing one of those Edo Tensei by himself."

"Is that wise?" Sai wondered, "will he not die?"

Sakura paused, remembering that their teammate was a jinchuuriki. It seemed that he had become stronger than they'd thought during his days away. "No," she said firmly, "Naruto won't die."

ooooo

"So this is Uchiha Madara?" Kakashi asked softly, regarding the orange masked figure standing a few meters away. The two Edo Tensei stood on either side of him, ready to protect their summoner.

"We are to believe so, yes," Gaara replied, "although I never heard any stories of him in Suna, so I have no idea of his abilities," he narrowed his eyes and glanced across at the second figure, the man who stood in a slightly slouch with bandages across his chest, "however, I know of that one. He is the previous Tsuchikage, I have seen his image in books before."

"And that big ossan?" Naruto stood on Gaara's other side and pointed across at the Raikage, "who's he?"

The Suna boy frowned, "I do not know. But he seems to be from Kumo, be careful Naruto."

"Right!" The blond boy nodded enthusiastically, "you go on, Kashi-sensei. Gaara and I will take care of these dead guys."

Kakashi nodded, feeling slightly uneasy. This figure did not look anything like the stone carving of Uchiha Madara that was centered in the clan grounds. And would Madara wear a ridiculous looking mask like that? He quickly dismissed the thoughts as distractions and looked to his side.

Sand swept up from behind them, coming from Gaara's gourd. It lifted into the air before flying forward towards the bandaged Tsuchikage, who ran off to draw him away. Gaara followed him; since B had done the most of their fighting in Ame, his chakra was not depleted in the least.

"Oi! Ossan! I have to get you away so that Kakashi-sensei can kick that masked teme's butt!" Naruto yelled. Kakashi sighed at his student's brash method.

But for some reason, the dark-skinned man easily agreed. He did not say anything, but he ran forward to where Naruto was standing and the blond boy took off, forcing him to follow him away. Finally, the jonin was left with only the Uchiha as an opponent, and he didn't know if it was better this way or worse. But Itachi had hinted at something, and he wouldn't have done so without good reason.

"Uchiha Madara," he called out, "that's who you are, isn't it?"

"You can call me that," the masked figure crossed his arms over his chest, looking completely undisturbed, "Hatake Kakashi."

Kakashi frowned. That was strange; the real Uchiha Madara had long been known to be a prideful man. He wouldn't have said something so ambiguous. "What kind of reply is that?" He slowly walked closer, "you either _are _him or you aren't."

"I am him, then. But there was another him before me," the man replied.

The understanding settled in, along with a good dose of relief. If this person _wasn't _Madara, then Kakashi had a good chance against him. There weren't many shinobi who could stand up against the Copy-Nin, "so you took his identity," he deduced, "why are you after Sasuke?"

"Is it wrong to take my relative with me? I only wish to turn him into a true Uchiha."

Kakashi readily imagined the fury his student would feel upon hearing that he was not a 'real Uchiha'. "Sasuke is fine as he is," he told him, "he doesn't need the help of any members of an organization of S-rank missing-nin," his eyes ran over the Akatsuki cloak. So there was an Uchiha who survived the massacre and joined the same organization as Itachi.

"He is still weak and he knows it," the masked figure went on, "move, Kakashi. I have no business with you and you will only be a waste of time."

"If you pose any danger to my students, then one of us will die here," Kakashi growled. The blue lightning of Raikiri appeared back into his hand, ready to strike. Without hesitating, he moved.

His speed was at its fastest, and there was nowhere for his opponent to go. As he went, he noted that the Akatsuki member who called himself Madara made no move to dodge. But he was foolish if he thought he could take a direct strike from Raikiri and survive. Kakashi came within inches of him in seconds, and drove his hand directly into the figure's heart.

It had been too easy. His hand was now buried into the man's chest, and he kept going forward due to momentum. Kakashi's eyes widened when he realized that it had actually been _too _easy; his hand had slipped through with an ease that could not signify actual flesh.

He stumbled for a second as he fell directly _thought _the person, and then quickly righted himself and leapt back, landing nearby. Raikiri shone just as brightly in his hand; it had done absolutely nothing. He let it slowly fade away, determined to learn more about this person before deciding on the best way to fight him.

The masked man emitted a strangled burst of laughter, "that position…it was so familiar, wasn't it? If you had killed me in the same way it would have been too ironic."

A faint alarm was triggered in Kakashi's mind, but he simply narrowed his eyes and continued to watch the Akatsuki member as he stood. To one side, Gaara was somehow keeping away the reanimation of the Tsuchikage, and occasional streams of sand flew into their way.

"You can turn yourself incorporeal," he observed, "that is an interesting jutsu."

"If it had fallen the other way, you might have it," the figure said in a dry voice, "I wonder what yours can do."

"My what?" He asked sharply. There was a foreboding feeling rising up inside him, and he didn't know why.

"Your Mangekyou Sharingan," the Akatsuki member clarified. From the very beginning of their fight, he still hadn't moved a finger, "it would be interesting to see it."

"How do you know I have the Mangekyou Sharingan?" Kakashi growled in a low voice. There probably wasn't a single jonin in the Five Countries who didn't know that the Copy-Nin had a Sharingan, but there was no way for anyone to suspect that he had the _Mangekyou._

"You have one. Show me, Kakashi. Maybe I'll deal with the Uchiha boy after I see to you."

Kakashi paused, wondering if it was a trap. Maybe he knew how to neutralize the Sharingan, in which case responding to the taunts would be suicide. But maybe he was bluffing to make sure he _wouldn't _use it. After all, no one in over five hundred years of shinobi history had ever been able to negate its effects.

But it was better to be safe. For now, this Akatsuki member could fight against the Thousand jutsu he had copied. "I won't," he said, "either leave Sasuke alone or die at my hands."

"I'm afraid that your student is rather important, I cannot leave him. But fighting you will only waste time. There is a much easier way to resolve this," the masked figure told him, "if you had any idea who I am, this would be over rather quickly."

"You're an Uchiha who survived the massacre," Kakashi said carefully, "maybe because Itachi helped you, like he did with his younger brother." He was carefully balanced over the water with one foot forward, prepared to attack. Even though they were away from Ame, the grey clouds remained and the light than made it through was dull; he could barely make out the eye behind the single hole in the mask.

But he shifted slightly, and the faint light fell onto the eye, revealing an intrinsic red pattern. A familiar one; at this close range, there was no mistake. Kakashi's eye widened and he looked upon the design.

"So you have a Mangekyou Sharingan too," he said again, deciding not to point out how similar it was to his own. Maybe this person wasn't aware of it, in which case telling him might give something away.

"Too? I was the one who originally had it," the masked man replied, "you wouldn't have yours if I hadn't presented it to you."

With that, Kakashi's knees suddenly grew weak. There was no way…he forced himself to stand upright and think properly. It was impossible to have recovered from injuries like those; this person was lying to trick him. Anger rose within him at the thought of such a cruel psychological attack.

"You're lying," he said between gritted teeth, "Uchiha Obito is dead."

"Yes, I've seen you visit that memorial," the other man spoke again, "I came to Konoha during the chunin exams, and watched you one day as you spoke to my carved name. I'd just like for you to know that I have no interest whatsoever in how your students manage to annoy each other."

The anger grew. His senses had _always _been on full alert when he visited the memorial; those words that he aimlessly mumbled were only for Obito's ears. Raikiri blazed in his hands once more, but he held himself back, determined not to attack brashly. A shinobi never let emotions get in his way.

"You're lying," Kakashi said firmly, knowing it to be true.

"Remember that day when I suggested that we visit the onsen after our mission?"

"Lying." He faltered for the first time. Why would this imposter bring that up?

"And Minato-sensei never took his clothes off, because Rin was watching?"

"Lying." His belief was starting to weaken. No one else had been there.

"And you arrived in that stupid face-towel because you felt so strongly about keeping your face hidden?"

"Lying."

"We did that just because we wanted to see your face, you know."

"Ly…" Kakashi's eye widened again.

"At the time it was just because Anko and Asuma wanted to know what you looked like, and we thought we could make at least five hundred ryo per picture. But eventually I became genuinely curious."

This time, he couldn't reply. The blue lightning flickered and faded away along with the sound of chirping birds, and the grey skies had never seemed more appropriate.

"You know," Uchiha Obito went on, "I'm still slightly curious."

Kakashi didn't move when he saw the masked man coming towards him. He couldn't move when he saw the long fingers come up towards his face. He stood rooted on the water he balanced on as Obito's index finger slipped beneath his hitai-ite to reach the edge of his mask, and hooked around it.

**ooooo**

**Note: Sasuke's Susano'o is red because he's using Itachi's eyes. Of course, in the manga it turns out that it's still purple, but I only recently watched 'Eyes that See in the Darkness' so it will be red for this fic.**

**Review (^^)?**


	49. The Acknowledged One

**Chapter 48 – The Acknowledged One**

"Argh!" Naruto growled, leaping back from the dark-skinned form of the Sandaime Raikage, "why can't I actually get through?!"

The reanimation simply stood there. So far, he had only attacked once, and had made no move to defend himself. Not that he needed to; two rasen-shuriken had already dissipated harmlessly across his impenetrable skin. At this point, he doubted even the bijuudama would work.

"The Kage are really strong…" he trailed, "but at least this one's holding back."

_That's the least of your worries right now, _Kurama replied, _I'll tell you this now; that person over there fighting your sensei is not Uchiha Madara. _

Naruto paused, still as the ripples on the water spread out below him, _that's can't be right. You said it yourself, Madara tried to summon you. _

_But I would know if he was this close, and he is not. Uchiha Madara _did _summon me, but this is not the real one. He may just be an imposter. _The Fox sat with his chin on his arms, seeming nonchalant, but Naruto could sense the first hints of apprehension.

_That's a good thing, right?_ He tried, leaping aside as the Raikage attacked with four fingers, _no one alive could be stronger than Madara_.

_It may not be such a good thing for your sensei, though, _Kurama informed him, _just look. _

Naruto's eyes widened and he turned sharply to where Kakashi and the Madara-imposter were fighting. He froze when he saw the orange-masked man's finger slip into his sensei's blue mask, easily bringing it down.

For a few seconds, he simply stood there, shocked. From this distance, he couldn't make out Kakashi's face very well, but…how could his sensei allow something like that, and within the first few moments of battle too? He was strong!

_Stop thinking for once and go, boy! _Kurama yelled to him, _if you're interested in keeping him alive! That person may not be Madara as I was so sure of, but he is definitely the one who has activated the seal!_

Kakashi was standing still, probably in shock. The man in the orange mask moved the finger up right underneath his eye, and made to move his hitai-ite upwards and expose the rest of his face.

Naruto burst into action. Orange chakra flared around him as he pushed off from the surface of the water, using the full extent of his speed to run down to the other side of the lake. From the corner of his eye, he saw two other figures approaching, but they looked like blurs in his eyes.

"Get away!" He yelled, arm outstretched. He made it to his sensei's side right before the other man could remove the hitai-ite, and slammed his hand into his arm, trying to push it away.

Somehow, it passed right through. His eyes widened as he stumbled and fell into the surface of the water in front of Kakashi. He turned his head to one side as he straightened, noting with satisfaction that the Akatsuki member, at least, had been forced to leap a few meters away. The figure landed on the surface of the water without making a single ripple. With determination in his eyes, Naruto stood up and glared at him.

"You're not allowed to lay a hand on my teammates!" He yelled. He looked behind him quickly to see Kakashi still standing there in slight shock, a distant expression on his newly revealed face. Behind him, the two other figures who had run forwards, Sasuke and Sakura, came to either side of him.

"What's happening?" He asked sharply.

Sasuke took one look at his bijuu chakra cloak and relaxed slightly, knowing that Naruto would buy them time, "that person is Uchiha Obito," he reported, "he's come to take me and convince me to join him."

"Sandaime-sama says that only Kashi-sensei can fight him, but that's not right," Sakura spoke up, biting her lip, "it's not right to make someone fight their friend."

Naruto knew that all too well. He nodded, and turned to Kakashi, "is he really?"

The grey-haired jonin nodded slowly, seeming slightly confused. He raised a hand to his face, freezing when his fingers didn't meet cloth, "I cannot…he is…"

"Being unable to kill your friend isn't a weakness. It's something that I can respect," Naruto told him, "leave it to me, sensei." He put his hands together, and turned to face Uchiha Obito.

"Tajuu Kage Bunshin!"

ooooo

Nii Yugito had always been proud of her speed.

It had started with learning how to run at the tender age of two, when most other children had just begun walking on tottering legs. On her fifth birthday, she had been able to outrun most adults.

When she turned fifteen, she became the fastest jonin in Kumogakure. Ridiculously fast fighters like the Raikage could flicker by an opponent in a fight in mere nanoseconds, but no one could combine speed and endurance like she did to sprint all the way around Kumo without slowing once.

So when Tsunade-sama told her to hold nothing back, she held _nothing _back. Trees whizzed by her as she leapt from branch to branch, forgoing the forest floor for the easier method of travelling higher. Even at this speed, she kept an eye out for bandit-nin who would potentially slow her pace.

This was how, while making the leap to a different branch, her eyes flickered down for a brief moment, simply to access the area. In that second, she caught sight of a person, running through the branches below her in the opposite direction. The person's hair was a strange shade of dark blue, and he wore a hitai ite with a symbol she could not make out.

But what she focused on in that second wasn't his hair but his back, which sported an Akatsuki cloak. The signature red clouds on the cloak were stained with what seemed like mud, and the cloak dragged slightly, as if it were heavy with water. Down the back was a long tear.

In that second, Nii Yugito thought she could make out blue skin under that tear.

But she couldn't pause to see more. She had to hold nothing back. With lips pressed tight in worry, she continued full speed to the coordinates Shizune had given her.

ooooo

"Sensei…can you stand?" Sakura held onto Kakashi's arm. He had slid down to the surface of the water, kneeling with his hands clasping his legs so tightly that his knuckles were white. She was worried that he would completely forget his chakra control and allow himself to fall into the lake.

"I suppose he already found out," Sasuke said grimly. He kneeled beside Sakura, turning to look around at the army of orange that their other teammate had turned into. He couldn't see Obito beyond all of it, but he knew that it wouldn't last long. More importantly, the red-haired boy, Gaara, was now left with both Kage reanimations to fight. He probably wouldn't last either.

Kakashi turned to look up. His expression was completely blank.

Sakura bit her lip, and couldn't help but examine his elusive face, now with the blue mask pooled at his neck. When they had been younger, their sensei's face had probably been one of the ultimate mysteries of life. They'd wondered the craziest things, and they'd all been far from the truth.

It was a normal face. His skin was surprisingly smooth for a thirty-year-old, mostly because he'd kept it covered for so long. It was disrupted only by the scar that ran down his eye and into the top of his cheek, which had long settled into the flesh so that it was no longer raised.

"I'm perfectly aware that we've now accomplished one of our greatest goals in life, Sakura," Sasuke muttered to her, "but we have a task to accomplish." He shifted so that he was sitting in front of the other jonin, "Kakashi-sensei, we have to get out of here while Naruto holds him back."

"What?" Sakura frowned, "I thought that Itachi said-"

"No, it's his choice," the Uchiha boy closed his eyes for a brief second, "people shouldn't have these decisions made for them. They should be allowed to choose for themselves."

Kakashi nodded slowly, and Sakura took that as an indication that he didn't want to fight. "Alright," she said, "let's go, then. Hopefully we can leave before one of those reanimations notices us."

"I'll stay here," Sasuke told her, "they're after me. You two can probably escape safely." He stood up, "I need to stay here anyway to deal with that Obito if things go badly. "

She gave him a worried look, "Sasuke-kun-"

"It's fine, Sakura. Say what you like, but I'm not letting the dobe and his friend die; I'll destroy my Sharingan before that happens. I know you're trying to protect me, but a shinobi has to make sacrifices sometimes."

Sakura opened her mouth to protest, but something about Naruto's presence made her change her mind. She nodded reluctantly and slung their sensei's arm over her shoulders, slipping back into iryounin mode as she looked for the shortest way out of the lake. But Kakashi's easily drew his arm back.

"No."

They both turned to look curiously at their sensei, who still had the blank look on his face. He looked up at them, "don't be silly, you two. I can't leave now, not when I'm so close."

Sasuke bit his lip in frustration, not knowing how to discourage him. Kakashi _couldn't _win against him, his emotional attachment was too strong. As a shinobi, emotions _always _got in the way, and it wasn't wise to fight when they did. It would be like him trying to fight Sakura!

"You can't," he said stiffly, "it's not wise, there's too much room for hesitation since he was your teammate. Please go with Sakura, sensei."

Kakashi smiled slightly at him, and it was strange to finally see his lips upturn without the cover of his mask, "I know that well, Sasuke. You don't need to worry about me, I'll figure out a way to fight him."

"But he's transparent," Sasuke pointed out. He looked out to where the attacking Naruto clones were passing through him, "whatever we do just passes right through him. And he's using his Mangekyou Sharingan to do it." He paused, "in a way, something like that is even more useful than Susano'o…"

"I know," Sakura said worriedly, tucking pink hair behind her ear, "I wonder how long he can last…"

At that, Kakashi looked up at her sharply, "what did you say?"

She looked back with a frown, "I just wondered how long he could keep it up. That jutsu that makes everything pass through him…"

"Why do you wonder that?" He questioned, "what if he can remain like that forever?"

Sakura shook her head, pushing herself up until she was standing with them, "that's not possible," she explained, "chakra cannot remain for too long in something insubstantial. It can be momentary, like Nidaime-sama's Hiraishin, but if it's held for too long the chakra will take its own form. It's something that shishou taught me."

Kakashi almost fell over with the relief, "it makes sense," he muttered, "that's why the bijuu have solid forms when they are not sealed…" he turned around to ruffle Sakura's pink hair vigorously, like he'd last done when she had been twelve. His former student simply stared back at him with a confused look.

"Sensei?" Sasuke asked, "I don't understand-"

"You two get away quickly," he instructed, "there won't be enough time to escape the lake completely, but stay back. Help the anbu with Gai and Sandaime-sama if you can." With that, Kakashi looked up at the sea of orange in front of them, "this is my responsibility now."

ooooo

Gaara panted heavily as he watched the pyramid of sand encase the reanimation in front of him. Long black marks stretched out over it, sealing away the Nidaime Tsuchikage. He breathed another sigh of relief as his sand swirled back into his gourd. Drawing up the sand in the water had taken up ridiculous amounts of chakra, and he was lucky that B had taken over most of their fight with Fu.

He collapsed onto the surface of the lake, slowly raising his hand to pull back the sand of his gourd.

At that moment, he felt another presence behind him. He turned quickly to see a bandaged arm rush at him, and rolled out of the way in time to avoid its crushing punch. Gaara landed a few meters away, and looked up wide-eyed at the figure of Mu.

"But…how?" He breathed, "I sealed you, I'm sure of it!"

"You sealed half of me," the reanimation replied. He brought his hands up, and a concentrated square of chakra spun into them. The Genkai Hakuri no jutsu. Gaara could only watch in dread, having no energy to move.

Somehow, the jutsu dissipated in his hands before it was used. Mu looked down, slightly disappointed. "I suppose that does not work in this form," he muttered.

Fortunately, that was loud enough for the red-haired boy to hear. He stumbled back onto his feet and pulled out as much sand as he could from the gourd, using it to harden his sand armor. He had no more chakra to draw up extra sand; was it even possible to fight half a kage with the small amount he could access?

The Nidaime Tsuchikage took one look at the sand armor and crossed his arms over his chest, "an interesting defense," he commented, "but it will not protect you at all."

Gaara's eyes widened, and shot down to the reanimation's hands. But his fingers were not in the process of forming seals; he could not perform his jutsu while in his half-sealed state. Inklings of dread rose up as he felt a disturbance behind him. He slowly looked around.

The other reanimation was headed towards him; the Raikage that Naruto had been fighting. He looked across to see that the blond boy had abandoned his fight to engage the masked man, who seemed to be a larger threat judging from the sea of clones he was using to fight him. Meanwhile, the Sandaime Raikage was rushing towards him with a three-fingered attack and his legs had no energy left to move. He watched in horror as the large form approached.

At the last moment, another blur filled his vision. A yellow blur. He felt a set of arms around him, pulling him out of the way.

"Gaara!" Nii Yugito yelled into his ear as they both landed a few meters away, "what's happening?"

Gaara looked up with relief at her anxious look, and used her arm to keep his balance, "thank you, Yugito-san," he breathed. He looked back at the two reanimations, "those are more Edo Tensei. The one on the left is no real danger, but the larger one is still at his full strength."

The Kumo nin slowly withdrew her arm, until he could stand upright on his own, "alright. Leave that one to me, then. I would tell you what happened in Ame, but there is no time." With that, she rushed off towards him, blue chakra coating her form.

Yugito would take care of him; she was one of the few alive who could rival the speed of a Raikage. Gaara looked back across at the Naruto clones being decimated, and felt more worry stir up. Worry at the slight apprehension in Yugito's voice when she had mentioned Ame. Worry at the fact that Kakashi-san had somehow collapsed, and was now remaining back with his two other former students.

Worry at the fact that there weren't any more Naruto clones left.

ooooo

"Well that was pointless," Uchiha Obito commented, allowing his hands to slip out of their katon jutsu seals, "I didn't even need to summon the Gedo Mazo to deal with you, Kyuubi."

Naruto bent over with his hands on his knees, panting heavily, "just…stay right there, dammit!" He yelled, "at least stay _real _so that I can hit you!" At this point, he was beyond frustrated. First a Raikage that he couldn't even hit, and now _this _person, who let every attack slide through him?

But inside his mind, Kurama was bristling with anger. The great fox stood at the very edge of his cage, _boy, get up and fight!_

_I'm trying! _Naruto protested, _but nothing hits him! And all those rasen-shuriken drained me..._Maybe it hadn't been such a good idea to rush someone who could dematerialize. But he'd never fought an enemy like this one before.

_And you were still tired from Pein and the Raikage too, _Kurama said sharply, _it worries me that he mentioned the Gedo Mazo itself. I think it may be time, now. _

_Time for what?_

_Your last option, _the Kyuubi replied grimly. His large eyes turned to centre on the paper seal that lay over the bars of the cage, _if it truly comes to it, you must remove this seal. _

Naruto paused, straightening inside the mindscape and looking up at his bijuu with apprehensive eyes. Remove the seal? Wasn't this was Ero-Sennin had spent years warning him never to do? Wasn't this what his father had once sacrificed his sealed chakra to prevent him from doing?

_There's no other option, if this man summons the Gedo Mazo, _Kurama insisted, _remove it. Go on. _

Hearing this, Naruto began to feel slightly uncomfortable, looking up at the giant eyes and the seal on the bars between them. Kurama was his friend now, but doing this…seemed so strange. B and Gyuki had trained together for almost ten years before removing their seal, and Yugito and Matatabi still kept theirs intact. Was this wise?

But if there was truly no other choice…he began to walk forward towards the cage, stepping slowly across the water of the sewer below him. The Demon Fox watched as he approached, but Naruto couldn't tell what he was thinking.

At that moment, he felt a hand on his shoulder. His real shoulder. He snapped out of the seal dimension and back into the real world, where the clouds were grey above him and the water was murky below. Naruto turned sharply to see Kakashi standing behind him, with one hand on his shoulder.

"Get back, Naruto," he said calmly, "Go to Gaara, he needs more help than I do."

"But sensei-" His eyes ran over the other man's unmasked face for the first time, since he had been too distracted to look at it before. Another great mystery of the world had been solved, but he was too frantic to feel any sort of satisfaction.

"Go," Kakashi said sharply, "I'll deal with him."

"You can't!" Naruto burst out, "I know it! I…I couldn't hurt Sasuke when I had to, and you were the one who taught me about teamwork. It's just not easy to fight a friend."

Kakashi merely smiled slightly, "mou…what kind of sensei would I be if I had to have my students fight my battles?" He asked lightly, "stay back, Naruto. Help Gaara, and protect Sasuke if you can. Leave this to me."

The blond boy looked like he was about to protest, but something about his voice made his stay quiet. He nodded slowly and stepped back.

Across from them, Uchiha Obito was still standing calmly, looking for all the world like he was about to burst back into Tobi's persona. He watched uninterestedly as Naruto left to help Gaara, and then turned to his former teammate.

"You already know that you'll lose," he said lightly, "and it has nothing to do with your abilities. I can see it in your look."

"You might be surprised, Obito."

"Fine," the orange masked figure raised his hand to point his palm at his former teammate, "I suppose I'm still interested in seeing what you can do with my Mangekyou Sharingan, after all."

Kakashi felt his entire body melt, almost like it was being slowly sucked away.

ooooo

When he felt solid again, he was in a different world.

He looked around, frowning at what he saw. The world was dark blue, but there were no sources of light. The ground, or what could be called a ground, was covered in strange rectangular shapes. It was like everything illuminated itself.

Obito stood on another ground near him, watching his reaction. At that, Kakashi kept his face carefully neutral. It was difficult. He wasn't used to needing to control his emotions, since his mask did that for him. But he kept his calm and remembered Sakura's words. It was possible, it had to be. If anyone would know, it would be an iryounin like her.

"This is the ability of Kamui," Obito told him. His voice seemed to echo throughout the new space, "I brought you here so that I can take my eye after I kill you."

"Why would you be interested in your old eye?" Kakashi questioned, bending his knees slightly and preparing for any hint of an attack, "I had presumed you would set your sights on greater targets." He vaguely recalled Naruto's quip about the 'Sharinnegan'.

"There's no need for me to explain my actions to a dead man."

"Why?"

The single word rung out through the space, and was met with silence.

"Why, Obito?" Kakashi spoke again, allowing the entirety of his pain to show in his expression, "I don't understand."

"Why? Because such things as the shinobi law do not allow me to reach my goals," the masked man responded, "my goal goes beyond that, and many cannot understand it."

"Tell me," the jonin said sharply, "I've never tried to understand you, Obito, but I'll try now."

For a moment, there was silence in the area. Uchiha Obito's Sharingan eye remained activated, gleaming red in the dim light. He stood in stillness, seeming to consider his former teammate's words.

"The Eye of the Moon," he began, "is the way I have chosen to correct this world. It is the infinite Tsukuyomi, the ultimate genjutsu. When the moon reflects it onto the land, the world will be ideal."

Kakashi almost fell over in disbelief, wondering if he was hearing correctly. The expression flitted openly across his face, and he felt the killing intent of the surroundings suddenly increase. No. He had just stated that he would try to understand. Even Obito had to have a reason for something like this.

"You want to create the ideal world through genjutsu?" He said carefully, "but…why? People without free will, wouldn't that be horrible on its own?"

"It is worse than it already is?" Obito went on, stepping to a closer block, "is it worse than a world where you saw Minato and your father and so many other lives slip out of your fingers?"

Kakashi frowned. Obito had never been that close to their sensei. Why would he bring him up?

"The world isn't worth living in, Kakashi," he continued, putting his fingers together and leisurely forming a seal sequence that he vaguely recognized as one of the Uchiha's katon jutsu, "once I see what you can do with my present, I'll take the Uchiha boy and the Jinchuuriki with me."

"Why is the world not worth living in?!" Kakashi finally burst out, "how is it that someone as brave as you could turn to this?" His hands were clenched at his sides. Even after decades of speaking to his grave, of going around and digging out every little fact about the boy he's once known, Uchiha Obito was still impossible for him to understand.

Obito stopped a few steps away, and his voice was quiet.

"You let Rin die."

Kakashi froze in horror.

"Rin is dead."

His words came out in a stutter, "it-it wasn't-I didn't-"

"_Rin died. _It doesn't matter how it happened. Or when, or where, or what silly politics were behind it. _She died._"

So he knew. He knew what had happened. But Obito had loved her and he didn't care why. Kakashi took a step back, mind suddenly rattled. He knew better than anyone else the lengths his friend was willing to go for Rin. He knew better than anyone that it was now hopeless, now that he knew. He tried in vain to put together the fragments of the plan he'd had over his revelation.

"As my shishou would say," Obito completed the seals, "do you want to dance too, Kakashi?"

When the great rush of fire came his way, only years of instinct allowed him to step out of its path and throw himself to the side. As his form jarred against the surprisingly hard surface of the block, he shook himself back into sense.

Obito really was too far-gone, but he was his responsibility now. Even if he had to die with him, he needed to take his teammate down. Kakashi rolled forward into a crouch, and reached one hand up to hook his fingers over the hitai-ite covering his eye. The details of his plan came rushing back, along with an eerie calm that spread through him.

"So you're going to show me?" The voice came from behind the rushing fire, "good. Let's see what you can do with my gift." Obito's form was a mere dark silhouette against the red.

The jonin pushed his hitai-ite up, revealing the Mangekyou Sharingan that he'd taken from his dead friend. A series of events…of facts…were coming together in his mind. He still wasn't completely sure…but something would happen. That, he _was _sure of.

But for now, he only had one plan. There was only one thing he could use to fight against Kamui. It was the only thing, and he only hoped that he could keep it up for long enough. He opened his left eye, allowing the red pattern to swirl into his iris. He could do it much faster now; he'd been practicing. Then he brought his fingers up over his eye and closed it again.

Before the wall of fire, Uchiha Obito put his hands together again, calling another of the Uchiha's katon jutsu. When the fire came blasting out of his hands, his one eye widened when some of the flames shot back towards him, but with a different color.

Kakashi had opened his eye.

"Amaterasu!"

ooooo

"Hah!" Nii Yugito yelled as her long fingers pushed a slip of paper onto the Raikage's back. Naruto, who had been underneath him, took the moment to roll away, giving her a thankful look as he did.

She flipped over the reanimation's back and landed in front of him, still holding her long, iron-like nails out in front of her. If there was any chance that the seal wouldn't work…

But the black lines were already beginning to spread across the Sandaime Raikage's chest, and there was a look of rough gratitude in his eyes. She straightened and brushed off her still-damp shirt.

"Yeah!" Naruto punched the air, "we got him!" He landed with a large splash on the surface of the lake, beaming.

"Not too bad, kid," Yugito said dryly, "but how did you think of using his own hand to pierce his shield?" The blond boy had used the arms of his bijuu mode to turn the reanimation's Nukite back at himself, and Yugito had used the momentary distraction to place the seal on his back.

"I asked Kurama, who asked Gyuki," Naruto replied, "the bijuu are really cool, you know? They can talk to each other even when they're far apart!"

"Of course," Yugito raised an eyebrow, "you didn't know that? Matatabi has been having lengthy conversations with your Kurama this entire time."

A look of absolute fascination overtook the boy's face. "I…didn't know that. So there are still things that Kurama doesn't tell me…"

_Shut up, boy. There was no need, _the Demon Fox growled from within his seal dimension.

Yugito ran a hand through her hair, and watched as Gaara approached them. The red-haired boy was looking worse for wear, since he had almost taken down the Tsuchikage by himself. Without his Genkai Hakuri no jutsu, the rest of the reanimation had been fairly simple to defeat.

Gaara limped over to support himself with a hand on her shoulder, "Naruto," he looked up, "go back and see if your comrades from Konoha are fine."

Yugito nodded, "a few of them don't look so well," she shot a glance at the anbu in the distance, "it looks like they have a medic, but that's a lot of people for one person to treat." The pink haired figure in the distance was split between three different anbu members.

"Yeah, Sakura-chan might be tired now," Naruto nodded, "don't let anything happen to Gaara if that fish-person comes back, Yugito nee-chan."

The blond kunoichi sighed, "just go, you little fool."

With that, Naruto turned and ran across the lake, back to where his teammates were. He arrived to find Sakura in the midst of black-clad anbu members. The ones that had been healed were either tending to the unconscious Sandaime or to Gai-sensei. Sasuke was standing by her, helping another anbu stay balanced on top of the water. Neither of them even noticed when he arrived.

"Sakura-chan, Sasuke!" Naruto called. He walked closer and his two teammate's eyes shot up to see him, "is it over?" He looked around, and frowned when he realized that one person was still missing. "Where's Kashi-sensei?"

Sakura bit her lip, and pushed sweaty pink hair out of her face. Her eyes already had dark circles lining them from all the chakra she had expended, and she was making a valiant effort to stay awake while her Shousen remained over the chest of the anbu Badger.

"We don't know," Sasuke replied grimly, slowly removing himself from the grasp of anbu Grasshopper and allowing another member to take over his hold.

"He's disappeared!" Sakura said in a voice that was almost frantic, "He told us to go help the anbu, and when we looked back, he and that Obito were both gone."

A cold feeling rose up in Naruto's chest as he heard her words. He knelt down where she was sitting, across from her patient, "he's…gone? Did Obito take him? Where?"

"We have to trust that he knows what he's doing," said Sakura, who still had every inch of faith in their sensei. At that, Badger groaned in pain and she looked back down, intensifying her Shousen.

"Sakura-taicho!" Another masked shinobi called, "Bear-san is loosing blood quickly!" He held up one of the members who had been directly impacted by the Four Fingered Nukite.

"I'm…coming," she gasped, releasing her patient to stumble over to the next. Naruto watched her go without recognition in his eyes. His mind spun with thoughts of his sensei.

"Calm down, Naruto." Sasuke said sharply, "getting anxious won't help us right now. We already know that Obito is after me, so the only reason for him to be away is if he's fighting Kakashi-sensei."

In his worry, Naruto didn't even realize that his teammate had referred to him by his actual name instead of that stupid moniker, 'dobe'.

ooooo

Sweat was pouring down his strangely exposed face, but he couldn't stop. One eye for tracking. One eye for a continuous stream of black fire that shot across at Uchiha Obito, who was trying to dodge and keep using Kamui at once.

_Four minutes…how long can he keep this up?_

Maybe it was hopeless. Maybe Sakura had been wrong. Maybe he was draining every inch of his chakra for nothing.

No. This was the only way. His former teammate leapt from one block to another, but Kakashi kept the flames going, spanning an area wide enough that made it impossible to successfully dodge without anything in the way. And there was nothing between them in this world, only the deep blue blocks below their feet. Amaterasu was the only thing that could win with a single touch, a single lick of black fire. He only had to wait until Kamui ran out, and the fire reached him.

"It's useless," came Obito's voice, which was starting to sound the slightest bit strained, "you're only killing yourself." He had stopped running, and was now walking towards him, letting the walls of black fire pass easily through his body.

Kakashi didn't reply. There was no way to speak over the amount of concentration it took to stay alive.

_Four minutes, thirty seconds. _

It wasn't chakra that he was using anymore. He had no more chakra, but the black flames kept emerging. He knew that he was using the same thing Itachi had used to raise Susano'o in his very last moments, according to Sakura's iryounin analysis. A life force.

Kakashi already knew that he wasn't going to survive, he would die no matter what happened. Even if he stopped now, his death had already been decided. No one could survive for long on such little chakra. But he had to take Obito down with him. One hand slipped into his pouch, drawing out a single kunai that he clenched tightly in his hand.

The masked figure was still calmly walking towards him, seeming completely unworried about the fact that he was using Kamui to its limits.

_Four minutes, forty-five seconds. _

How much more time would it take? Kakashi narrowed his eyes and kept the flames in constant blaze, but his time was running out quickly. He only had seconds of life-force left to use as fuel. Without pause, he threw the kunai and then slipped his hand into his pouch for another one.

Just as the kunai left his hand, Amaterasu stopped. The black flames died out, and Kakashi watched with a sinking feeling as the last of them passed through Obito's body harmlessly. The front of the kunai slipped through his shoulder.

At that moment, Obito's reveled eye widened. The kunai in his shoulder had gone through…but not completely. The very end of its hilt was visible, still stuck in his shoulder. Kamui had failed halfway through its flight.

The jonin saw his chance, even thought there were only seconds left in which he could possibly remain alive. With the last of his energy, Kakashi ran forward with another kunai, determined to let it strike correctly in the unknown amount of time Obito's body would be substantial. But Obito stayed in place, because he had already reactivated his Kamui after the momentary lapse.

Kakashi tried to bring the kunai down, but suddenly paused mid-strike.

Obito's Mangekyou Sharingan spun, and his eye widened again.

Kakashi felt something stuck in his throat, slowly pushing his way out. It was a feeling he hadn't felt in months, but still remembered well. The hand holding the kunai came down as he scratched at his neck, mouth open and gagging.

When the first feeling of slick feathers pushing out appeared, he looked up at his friend. Seeing that he was still, and real, Kakashi managed to throw the kunai he was holding.

"No…" Obito breathed, "that is…" he listened in dread to the strange cawing sound that echoed through the alternate world, and watched his former teammate straighten and clutch at his throat.

He watched as the jonin opened his mouth wide, but not in a scream. From the very back of his throat, a shining red eye peered out at him and he felt his freedom melt away.

When the blade of the kunai embedded itself in his chest, Uchiha Obito barely noticed. When all life fled from Kakashi's face and he fell over, he barely paid attention to his momentary victory. Just before his former friend's body reached the ground, the crow that had been inside him flew out.

And Obito was entranced by that one red eye.

ooooo

When Kakashi opened his eyes, he was sitting upright.

There was a fireplace in front of him, and he was sitting on a log. It was strange, because there was nothing else in the world. It was a different world. That seemed to be happening often lately. He raised a hand up to his bare face, letting his fingers run over his eyelids. Vague flashes of memories assaulted him, and he recalled the bird coming out of his mouth. He was dead. They were both dead.

So this had been Itachi's plan. Sacrifice Hatake Kakashi to kill Uchiha Obito. A worthy plan, he thought truthfully. He couldn't help but feel an ocean of respect for the most loyal shinobi he'd ever known.

"Kakashi."

He turned at the voice, and his eyes widened slightly at the person who sat on the log beside him. Familiar white hair tied back at his neck, and a kind face that had just started to show lines. Hatake Sakumo's eyes ran over his son's face.

"It's like looking into a mirror," he breathed. He paused slightly when he saw the Sharingan eye, but didn't bring it up.

Kakashi almost slid off the log in his haste to speak, "I'm so, so sorry, otou-san."

His father smiled, "no need, I only hoped that you would forgive me."

"I forgave you long ago," he said truthfully, "I'm sorry. If I had contributed even the smallest hardship that led you to it, I'm truly sorry." He looked down to where his fingers were white, gripping the log. He tried to loosen his grip and failed.

"I said no need, Kakashi," Sakumo's smile was kind. He didn't regret it. He hadn't done it because of his son's angry looks and silent treatment. He'd done it because he didn't want to think of the jeers and shame his boy would have received because of him.

Kakashi looked around, "where is this?"

"I don't know. I've learned to take things as they come," his father replied.

"I'm dead," Kakashi told him, "I died just moments ago, killing my friend. He's dead too."

"A harsh death," Sakumo frowned slightly, "but not the end of it all. If you are here, then maybe there is a chance…"

Kakashi watched him expectantly.

"Oh, I'm not sure," his father smiled again, "will you talk to your father, just this once?"

Kakashi remembered long weeks of refusing to speak a word to the man, out of a mixture of shame and spite. He nodded almost too vigorously, "about anything, otou-san."

"What happened, then?" The other man's eyes ran over his jonin flak jacket, "you became a jonin? How old are you? Married? Any heirs I should know about?"

"I became a jonin when I was thirteen," Kakashi replied, "because I was a fool. I'm thirty-two. Not married, no children. I don't like children." Somehow, it came out sounding more like a report, and he winced. He searched for something positive to say, "I have three students. They're wonderful." He realized that they were the only things he _could _boast about but that was fine. They were enough.

Sakumo reached out to lay a hand on his shoulder, "we have something in common, then. You were too young to remember, but I was a sensei too."

"You were?" He looked up. The hand on his shoulder felt strange, but right.

"I trained your sensei's friend, Uzumaki Kushina," he smiled, "now she was a handful. Ridiculous chakra reserves. Teaching her how to walk up a tree was harder than drawing blood from a stone. She was wonderful too, though. Your mother loved her."

Kakashi couldn't help but smile slightly, "she and Minato-sensei got married the year after…" He paused, "I taught her son, Uzumaki Naruto. Well, I don't think I can take credit for that. I suppose he actually taught me, in this time at least. He's a handful too." So he had that in common with his father. They had both gone through the arduous process of being around an energetic Uzumaki. He wondered if the Kakashi of the previous timeline had had similar problems.

The fire flickered languidly.

"Is it disappointing?" He spoke up, "did you want heirs? I am the last Hatake, after all…" he vaguely began to empathize with Tenzou. But the thought of children frightened him slightly. What on earth could he do for a child? Teach it how to kill?

"Passing down your ninja way is more important than passing down bloodlines, or genes," Hatake Sakumo said softly, "if you've accomplished that, then I'm not disappointed at all."

Kakashi thought of Sakura's beautiful mind and Sasuke's unmoving loyalty and Naruto's willingness to protect his friends. "Yes," he said firmly, "that's something I've succeeded in."

"Then I'm proud," his father told him, "do you want to tell me what happened?" His eyes paused briefly at the Sharingan.

Kakashi could do nothing but spill everything out, "the person who gave me this eye was Obito. You knew him, he was the boy on my team that I was always yelling at. I thought he died that day, but somehow he survived, and he saw Rin die. You knew her, too. Whenever I was sent to the hospital, she was the one who would bring me candy that I would never eat. But he loved her and lost his confidence in life when he saw her die. Now…he's turned into a missing-nin determined to put the world into a genjutsu."

Hatake Sakumo raised an eyebrow; "you've gotten yourself into some interesting things, Kakashi."

His son could only nod in silence, and watch the flickering fire.

"You defeated him?"

"No. Uchiha Itachi defeated him. I was his tool, and I'm proud to have been it. You never knew him, but he was a great shinobi." Kakashi's fingers loosened their grip on the log.

"Then it's alright, isn't it?" Sakumo squeezed his shoulder comfortingly, "it's over?"

"It's not," he said bitterly, "there's…a special seal in place. He'll return. He won't remember anything that's happened in the last six years or so, but he'll come back and Itachi and I won't be there to stop him."

"You shouldn't say those things so certainly," his father advised, "people loose their confidence in life all the time, Kakashi. I lost it, and I became a tool of the council for months. And…they weren't as nice as this 'Itachi' person. Some people heal quickly, and some people take longer. But even if it happens in the moment before their death, everyone regains it eventually."

Kakashi's hands shook, "you don't understand…Obito's gone too far." Imagining him like that would be like imagining Naruto loosing his will to be Hokage.

Sakumo merely smiled, "people are surprising sometimes."

For a while, all they could hear was the sound of the fire burning through wood. Kakashi had always felt comfortable in silence, and this silence was incredibly soothing. He'd spent years carefully analyzing what he would have said to his father, but none of that came up in his mind. There was only the present.

"What happens now?" He asked, still unsure if it was real or all an illusion.

"I don't know," his father replied, "I'm hoping that maybe I can see my wife again."

"What was she like?" Kakashi turned to watch him. His mother had died when he was young, and he didn't even have a memory of her face. All he'd known was that she was a civilian girl, and that she'd been far younger than him, and that many people hadn't approved of his father's marriage to her.

Sakumo smiled softly, "she was the most amazing person I ever met. You may look like me, Kakashi, but I see her whenever I look at you."

Kakashi was left pondering that when the image of Hatake Sakumo disappeared.

**ooooo**

**This was a difficult chapter to write, which is why it took a little longer than the others. I'm pretty sure you can all guess the command of the Koto Amatsukami (^^)**

**Also, one of the changes in this timeline that I had decided on from the beginning was that Obito's left eye (Kakashi's****) would have Amaterasu instead of Kamui. Kakashi cannot use Kamui here. **

**Note: I stopped reading the manga at around the point where Tsunade reveals her Byakujo in the fight against Madara, and now I only watch the anime, which is at the same point (the fights are better when animated and I don't want to spoil them for myself). Please don't spoil anything in the reviews...**

**My co-writer MKani wrote the entire Kakashi and Sakumo scene herself, and I'm really happy with how it turned out. If you want to see more of her amazing writing, check out her alternate penname 'Riya3'.**

**Note: I do delete my author's notes when I upload the next chapter, which is why some of you noticed that previous ANs are disappearing.**

**The next chapter will be up soon. SOON.**


	50. Yatagarasu & Nagato's Decision

**Chapter 49: Yatagarasu and Nagato's Decision**

"Sakura-san."

Haruno Sakura was too tired to look up. Her blood-covered hands were still positioned over some person's chest. She was too focused on making sure the man's spleen was put back into the right place.

"Sakura-san," the voice came again. It sounded soft, and rather polite. Definitely Sai.

When another figure settled before her and took over the healing process, she looked up wearily, green chakra fading from her hands. Her eyes widened when she saw who the person was.

"Shizune nee-san!" She exclaimed, "what are you doing here?"

At that moment, two other figures entered the area, one limping heavily. She turned to see Gaara and Yugito nee-san, the blond woman who had lived with Tsunade-sama once.

"New patient, Shizune," Yugito reported, removing Gaara's arm from around her shoulders and handing him over to one of the anbu standing guard.

"I'm not urgent," the red haired boy said slowly, looking around at all the other patients, "only chakra loss. You may treat me last."

"Of course, Gaara," Shizune agreed. The dark-haired iryounin turned to give Sakura a sheepish smile, "Tsunade-sama commanded me on threat of death to get over here and make sure that no one dies," she explained, "you don't look that well, Sakura," she looked up at the boy standing behind her, "Sai-kun. Take Sakura to Tsunade-sama."

Sakura felt herself being lifted up, and she recognized a pale face next to her own as she gripped onto his shoulders. Sai gave her a bland smile, "some more backup has arrived, Sakura-san," he informed her, "and if you could not get blood on my shirt, that would be nice."

"Oi! _I_ didn't ask you to carry me!"

Nevertheless, Sai winced slightly at the fact that his shirt was probably not going to be wearable anymore.

"Who is this backup?" Sakura asked.

"Tsunade-sama, Yamato-taicho, and two others who I don't know have arrived. Tsunade-sama and Yamato-taicho are currently speaking with Naruto and Sasuke, while the two unknown persons are standing in the tree nearby."

That was relieving. Shishou would take care of everything. But there was still one thing left. "Where's Kakashi-sensei?" She asked and Sai walked over the lake, "has he appeared yet?"

Sai frowned slightly, "we have not seen him. He and the masked figure you referred to as Uchiha Madara are still missing." His voice sounded even, but she could feel that his fingers tightened slightly around her legs. Her worry slowly grew deeper, and she looked over his shoulder, watching as Shizune expertly handled the injured anbu members. If only she'd had more chakra…

She turned to look where they were heading, and some of the worry faded away at the sight of Senju Tsunade, standing with her arms crossed over her chest and giving orders to the other anbu that made everyone feel like things would be ok. Her shishou had that effect sometimes. Well, she had it whenever she was sober.

Naruto and Sasuke were there, both looking incredibly worried. Beside them stood Yamato-taicho, who was mirroring the expression. When she and Sai arrived, Tsunade turned to give her newest student a warm smile.

"Sakura, you did well," Tsunade told her, "I heard from Naruto."

"We can't stop now," Sakura said, gently untangling herself from Sai's grip and standing rather unevenly on the lake, "Kakashi-sensei still isn't back. We have to find him."

"Yeah, we can't leave sensei behind!" Naruto joined in. Sasuke nodded from beside him, and Yamato was giving her a pleading look, lips pressed tight in worry.

Tsunade sighed. Then she looked across at two of the anbu standing guard nearby. "You two! Squirrel and…whatever your face is! Did any of you see what happened to Hatake Kakashi and the other enemy?"

Squirrel stood at guard, while the other one stood a little lower, slightly miffed that his Anteater mask wasn't distinct enough to be identified. "We had a vague report from Badger saying that Hatake Kakashi and the unidentified Akatsuki member disappeared into thin air during their fight," Squirrel reported.

"And where is Badger?" She asked sharply.

"Currently suffering from a Nukite through the side, Tsunade-sama."

Tsunade forced herself to calm down, and then looked across at Naruto with a strangely sad expression, "I'm sorry, Naruto. If Kakashi went too…" she trailed quietly.

"What?" Naruto tilted his head to one side. But then he remembered something else, "where are B no ossan and Utakata-san and Ero-Sennin?!"

"They're in the Ame hospital with Konan. B-san is being treated," Yamato informed him.

For a second. Naruto remained quiet. When that second passed, he leapt up and punched the air, grinning with joy. "It's done!" He exclaimed, "if Konan nee-chan is on our side, then Nagato is too! I did it! I knew he would see reason eventually!"

"Konan nee-chan? Nagato? B? Who are these people?" Sasuke questioned sharply. He turned to Tsunade and gave her a calculating look, "and why are you and Yamato-taicho here? If you were backup, you would have arrived much earlier. When we were actually _fighting_."

"They were my teammates!" Naruto rushed to clarify, "for the top-secret mission sensei and I were on. You haven't met them," he turned to Yamato, "so where is Nagato now?"

"He's in the branches of that tree over there," Tsunade pointed to one of the tallest trees at the far end of the lake, "he's paralyzed, so Orochimaru is carrying him. My old teammate doesn't have the chakra control to stand on water right now, so he's staying on high ground."

After this statement, there was silence. Yamato was watching Naruto carefully, noting the mixture of expressions that flitted across the boy's face. Surprise, and then horror, and then anger. Sakura, who had heard of the snake sannin, simply looked confused. Sai and the two anbu standing behind them were pretending they hadn't heard, but Tsunade knew that Danzo would know of her teammate's return by the time they got back.

"Did you say…"

"Yes, Naruto. Orochimaru," Tsunade said loudly, "he helped us. And now that he's back, I'm never letting him go again. He's really good with paperwork, after all, and Shizune will need a break sometimes." Her tone was light, but there was an underlying twinge to it, as if she expected much berating in the future about her decision.

Yamato was slightly surprised at how openly she had said it. He had thought she would try to either disguise him, or immediately throw him in prison. Bringing back Konoha's public enemy and saying it out loud was a daring move, but Senju Tsunade was nothing if not daring. She didn't care what anyone thought; she only wanted to help her teammates. And since Jiraiya had been so adamant to get Orochimaru back…

"Orochimaru…helped you?" Sakura squeaked, "but shishou, wasn't he the one who-"

"The very same," the slug sannin nodded, "he's lost most of his chakra control, and can no longer perform jutsu because of something the Akatsuki did. You have no reason to fear him." She turned to Naruto, "he's with Nagato right now."

Naruto nodded. A part of him screamed to do _something _to take care of the person who'd caused him pain. Another part recognized the look in Tsunade baa-chan's eyes. It was the same look he'd had while trying to stand up for Sasuke when everyone declared him a missing-nin to be caught. Somehow, he understood.

"So this…Orochimaru is taking care of one of your teammates?" Sasuke questioned. Unlike Naruto, he had a very real reason to hate the person, and it had nothing to do with the events of the chunin exam. It had to do with the look in Anko-sensei's eyes whenever she'd spoken of the man.

Sakura placed a hand on his shoulder, "if shishou says he's different, then he is," she said softly, "don't do anything rash, Sasuke." They'd worked on his vengeance-urges for years. She'd be damned if he started up again now.

"He's not different," Tsunade scoffed, running a hand through her damp blond pigtails, "he's the same dry bastard he always was, and he'll never be anything else," she turned to Sasuke, "and I know you're with the snake-girl on this one, but leave it to me, kid. I'm taking responsibility for this; I'll fix it."

He nodded reluctantly, "fine. But now we have to find Kakashi-sensei."

"He's not in the region," anbu member of name Anteater spoke up from nearby, "I'm a sensory type, I would know. And Tsunade-sama, I would like to inform you that I am the anbu Anteater," he said stiffly.

She raised an eyebrow at him, "_Anteater? _The anbu must be getting pretty desperate these days."

"Indeed," Sai spoke up blankly, "I believe they've begun with insects as well."

Sakura watched the exchange in slight irritation, "then how do we find him? Where is Kashi-sensei?"

Tsunade walked over to her, looking down at the pink-haired girl who'd trained under her so enthusiastically. She reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder, absently activating her Shousen to take away some of the fatigue. "I'm sorry, Sakura," she said quietly, "we don't know. And with the amount of time he's been missing…"

Sakura stilled under her hand.

"No!" Naruto yelled, "Kakashi-sensei can't have died! He's still fighting, that's why Obito hasn't come back yet!" He clenched his fists, refusing to believe that his sensei could have died. Beside him, Sasuke nodded slowly.

Tsunade sighed, "Naruto, I don't know how to tell you this. But I think that you would want me to be truthful to you, and I know that you can handle it."

Naruto froze, and a thousand situations sprung up in his mind. That was when he realized that there was still one person he'd asked about who she had not replied for. He narrowed his eyes, "what happened, baa-chan?"

"The Akatsuki summoned the Edo Tensei of Uchiha Madara," she said grimly, retrieving her hand from Sakura's shoulder, "Jiraiya died to seal him."

ooooo

A sea of faces looked at her. Before she had arrived, they had been filled with expressions of pain and loss. Now that she stood before them, they were filled with awe.

"What is the extent of the damage?" Konan of the Akatsuki asked. She stood before them in front of the Ame hospital, black cloak slightly scuffed and strands of blue hair out of place. They did nothing to diminish her beauty. Behind her, Utakata stood with B's arm over his shoulder.

Around them, the rain was falling once more, although none of it affected her. The people in front of her who had just exited their shelters were soaked. Some had already gone on to survey the damages made to the industrial areas, and many of the jonin had already left to see if there were any more injured civilians.

Konan sighed when her words were met with silence. It had been a long time since she had stood so close to anyone apart from Nagato, Obito, and Itachi. "Report the damage," she instructed.

One man slowly stumbled forward, "estimated one-hundred-fifty million ryo of industrial damages caused by falling rocks, Angel-sama," he breathed, "so far, there have been fifty casualties within that district. Everyone else in the residential areas remained safe."

"Thank you," she nodded.

"Angel-sama, what happened?" Another woman asked, stepping forward cautiously, "where is Pein-sama?"

"I will release that information once the damage has been taken care of," Konan told her, "now take these two inside. One of them is injured," she gestured at Utakata and B.

"'M…ok…baka yaro," B rasped, "just need…a little…rest."

"Yes. A month of it," Utakata muttered, sagging a little under his partner's weight.

There was silence again.

Finally, one of the white-cloaked Ame iryounin stepped forward, "what are you waiting for?" He demanded, "Taro-san, Komura-san, take Angel-sama's patient inside and begin treatment!"

The two people gestured to immediately came forward, walking carefully around Konan to the Jinchuuriki behind her. They helped B out of Utakata's hold and began to carry him inside. Utakata watched them go, and then turned to the Akatsuki member.

"Will he be ok?" He asked, "they seem a little…scattered." He appreciated her incredible beauty as well as any other man, but this was strange. He watched as the small crowd gathered outside the entrance to the hospital slowly dispersed, shooting curious looks back at him while they went.

"I have never been so close to them," she whispered, "they think I am really an angel."

"I don't doubt it," Utakata told her. He turned to look around, smoothing wet brown hair off his face, "what do we do now, Konan-san?"

"You will wait until your teammate recovers, and then head back to wherever you wish. You cannot remain here for long; it is dangerous to have a Jinchuuriki in a small place like this," Konan replied.

Utakata smiled, "are you worried about having the Akatsuki members come back? I was under the impression that we already took care of most of them."

She closed her eyes briefly, "there are three more. Zetsu is inherently weak, and I would have no trouble with him. Kisame is strong, but I know each and every one of his abilities, and so I can take him as well. But Obito-sama…"

Utakata watched her expectantly, "Obito-sama?"

Konan sighed, "I have used almost all my paper bombs to deflect the meteor. I don't know if I will be able to fight him for long."

He frowned, "Ame is allied with Konaha, isn't it? If you have any problems, I'm sure they would be willing to help."

Konan remained quiet, looking across at one of the windows above, where the reluctant B was being lowered into a hospital bed.

"What will happen to Ame?" Utakata went on, "after we leave, that is? I've never been particularly knowledgeable about money in Hi no Kuni, but one-fifty-million ryo of damages is quite a lot, isn't it? And the irrigation systems are completely ruined, too."

"We'll manage. We in Ame are used to improvisation."

"And the ones whose families have died?"

"I won't let them starve, Rokubi. We have emergency funds set aside."

"And you, Konan-san?" He asked, "what will you do?"

She looked up, smiling slightly at the rain that washed over her face, "I will wait for Nagato."

ooooo

Even as Naruto's eyes widened, Sakura ran past him.

It wasn't because of Jiraiya's death; she had barely known the man. It wasn't because of the mention of the actual Uchiha Madara, which had made Sasuke still in horror. It was because of the body that suddenly materialized behind Naruto, slowly swirling into existence and falling onto the surface of the lake.

She pushed her teammates out of the way and rushed to prevent their sensei's body from falling into the water without chakra. Before she could get there, Yamato was already in place, kneeling beside his former senpai and lifting him up. Sasuke followed close behind. The three of them looked down at Kakashi's lifeless face, and then across at the strange bird which stood proudly on his chest.

The crow cawed loudly, spreading its black wings. Upon seeing it, Sasuke held out his arm, and allowed it to wrap his claws around it as a hold. He drew the bird up, peering curiously at its strange red eye even as he felt a strange sinking feeling inside.

"Sensei?" Sakura asked quietly. Her green Shousen lit up in her hands as she placed them over his chest, trying to seek out any remnants of life. But it was useless, and Yamato gently drew her hand back, preventing her from exhausting herself while trying.

"Stay calm, Sakura," he said softly. Anbu were supposed to be used to these things, but he knew that most shinobi weren't. His face was carefully expressionless.

A short distance away, Naruto was still frozen in his spot from the news of his Ero-Sennin's death. He slowly turned around to see his sensei's body and the black crow on Sasuke's arm.

Tsunade watched the blond boy worriedly, and then walked forward to stand by him. "It gets easier," she said quietly, "you're a strong shinobi, Naruto. You can handle it. This is what happens to the strong."

"I let him go," he said quietly, "I should have removed the seal and risked him summoning the Gedo Mazo. But I didn't. I let him go."

_It's not so bad, boy, _Kurama spoke up, _the trigger will be safe now. The presence of the seal user has disappeared, and will not come back until the time has passed._ He seemed strangely satisfied. Of course he would; his goal had been reached. The one who had dared use the Rikudo Sennin's doujutsu was dead. He immediately reached out to Matatabi for celebratory conversation.

But the Demon Fox didn't know about such human things as friendship and loss. Naruto shut the voice away. He didn't know what to do. The goal had been to _save _people, and use this chance well. But instead, both Ero-Sennin and Kakashi-sensei had died. Somehow, he had failed, and failed badly. He tore his glance away from his sensei's body and narrowed his eyes.

There was only one thing he could do. Naruto turned to survey the area, looking for his target. When he saw it, he left running.

Beside Kakashi, the three figures were silent and Tsunade watched them carefully.

"Sakura, are you alright?" Yamato asked slowly. The pink haired girl kneeling beside him seemed to be taking his death worse than the others. She didn't reply, seemingly in shock. Then, the shocked expression slowly melted away.

"He's not breathing," Sakura said calmly. She looked up to see Sasuke avoiding the view of their sensei, instead focused on the bird sitting on his arm. It was a rather large bird, and she hadn't noticed it well at first. Its black feathers were wet and slick, and its eyes were mismatched.

"It's Itachi's," Sasuke told her, "I know it." There was a strange lump in his throat, but an Uchiha didn't cry. Not even for this.

"What?" Yamato looked across at both of them, "what does that mean?"

"Itachi said that sensei was the only one who could take down Obito," Sakura explained, still in that strange, calm voice, "I suppose he did something before he died."

"Yes," Sasuke nodded, looking down at Kakashi's face properly for the first time since he had materialized. It was too pale. "Where's Naruto?"

"I don't know," she answered, "he ran off somewhere."

"Is he going to come back?"

"Probably. This is Naruto-baka, after all. He'll probably come back with the secrets of resurrection, or something."

"…how illegal would that be?"

"Very. I've read the shinobi law books."

Yamato looked from Sakura to Sasuke with furrowed eyebrows.

"I don't mind," Sasuke said matter-of-factly. "As long as it's not the Edo Tensei. I don't like that jutsu." He reached up with one hand to stroke the feathers of the crow that stood on his arm. It paused in its preening to give him a calculating look, but he knew that Itachi's crows weren't _really _sentient, no matter how intelligent their beady eyes looked.

"Neither do I," she looked up.

"You two…are both in shock," Yamato said slowly, "this happens, teammates die."

The two students of Hatake Kakashi weren't sure what to say to that. Uchiha Sasuke merely regarded the bird standing on his arm that was still preening its feathers. "Why, aniki?" He whispered, looking into its red iris, "was there really no other way?"

ooooo

"That is Jiraiya's student's student, I think," Orochimaru observed, staring down at the group of figures gathered around the still body from his high vantage point, "the one who had Tobi's other eye." Tsunade had dragged him across kilometers of forest, and he was completely spent. He leaned back against the bark of the tree, fingering the edges of his Ame prison uniform.

Uzumaki Nagato managed to turn his head. The paralysis was slowly wearing off, and such small movements were now available. He looked across at the boy, Naruto, who had defeated him. He stood there, completely still and looking down at the lifeless form of his sensei while his teammates gathered around the body.

"I would feel pity for Tsunade," the snake sannin spoke again, "but she's probably immune by now. After Jiraiya's death, I don't think there's anything left that can faze her," he turned to glance at Nagato's concentric eyes, "that is good news for you, and very bad news for me, in case you were wondering."

"Buhi."

At that moment, a small scuffling sound appeared behind them on the branch. Orochimaru turned sharply, but relaxed when he saw a small, snouted animal. He held out hand out.

"Pig," he called, "come here. Tsunade may be jaded now, but if you were lost too, she may just go mad," he said dryly. He lifted Tonton with both hands, raising an eyebrow at the fetching pink jacket and pearl necklace, "I never understood why she liked this thing. If she wanted a tracker I would have been happy to point her to the nearest ninken."

"Buhi," Tonton replied, vaguely recognizing her owner's name. She wriggled happily in Orochimaru's pale fingers.

The paralyzed form was not paying attention to him. He was too busy squinting to make out the blond boy's expression. Jiraiya's death had been painful for him, but it was hard to make out what this boy was feeling, after hearing of the deaths of _both _his sensei. It had been fairly obvious when Tsunade had told him about it, because that was when his face had gone pale.

"What are you thinking of, Pein-sama?" Orochimaru asked, "you can speak now, can't you? Most of the minor paralysis should have worn off by now." He was no iryounin, but he could tell. He settled Tonton on the branch beside him, and shifted uncomfortably when the pig snuggled into his side.

"Naruto," Nagato said quietly.

"Kukuku…Uzumaki Naruto…" Orochimaru trailed, narrowing his eyes, "if I had to, I could probably trace all my sufferings in the past few years to that boy."

"He…defeated…me."

The snake sannin almost fell off his branch, "what? That is beyond surprising, Pein-sama. I thought you had given me the easiest Jinchuuriki to capture, when I first saw him."

"Jiraiya's…student."

"Yes, I know. He can summon those blasted toads."

"Hatake…Kakashi's student."

"Ah, so _that_ is what you are thinking," Orochimaru nodded, tucking his long, slightly damp hair behind one ear, "but if I refuse to even feel sorry for Tsunade, then I certainly don't feel any pity for him." Pity wasn't a priority. His priorities consisted of keeping a decent gap between his leg and his teammate's pig.

Nagato stared unblinkingly across the lake at where the figure stood, "he has...learnt…the true meaning…of Pain."

"I do not doubt it. But the fate of a shinobi is to endure, and he must learn to do so," he rasped, "Tsunade will have her hands full with that one. I shudder to think of it." He paused in horror when he realized that there was a possibility _he _would be in frequent contact with the boy, now that he was metaphorically chained to his former teammate.

"Buhi?" Tonton squealed, noting her owner's name again. Orochimaru placed on long finger on her snout and pushed her away carefully.

But Nagato didn't break eye contact, and the weight of Tsunade's green haori around him felt heavier than usual on his form. He looked at the jaded expression on the slug sannin's face, and the blank one on Naruto's.

Could he do it? Somehow, the tale was beginning to sound right. Jiraiya-sensei had slipped out of his fingers, and there was nothing he could do to get him back. The Death God was stubborn about those who floated in his stomach, and would not yield even to the Rikudo Sennin's doujutsu.

But there was something else. In this state, it would take everything he had, but it was the only thing he could do.

He thought of Konan and Ame. Inklings of worry rose up, but he pushed them down. Thinking something like that would be underestimating her.

With new determination, he fought the paralysis to bring his hands up slowly.

Orochimaru watched with a worried look, "Pein-sama, what are you doing?"

"Tell Naruto that…I thank him." Nagato spoke slowly while the snake sannin watched in confusion.

"I'd rather not speak at all to the boy if I can help it," he murmured, "if you are attempting to escape, then I'll have to warn you that even I can take you down in your semi-paralyzed state."

"Tell Konan…that she means everything. Tell her to stay alive."

Orochimaru's purple lined eyes widened as he looked down below the branch they were sitting on, where a strangely shaped figure rose from the ground and opened its mouth in a wide yawn.

ooooo

"Shizune-san! It's Raccoon, he's stopped breathing!"

Katou Shizune turned sharply at the words, leaving Badger to another anbu members. "Bring him here!" She instructed.

As her eyes went, she caught sight of Gai, who was lying a few meters away along with the Sandaime Hokage. Her eyes widened and she stumbled to her feet. Frenzied, she grabbed the arm of the nearest person she could find.

"Is Gai ok?!"

The anbu member looked back at her and nodded firmly, "Sakura-taicho says he is under great stress from the Gates. Her diagnosis is that it will take a month for him to recover."

Shizune almost collapsed in relief, letting go of the man's arm. With that made sure, she turned to see the patient being brought to her. The man's Raccoon mask was fractured, and only half of it remained on his face. One eye was revealed, fully glazed-over.

She bit her lip even as she activated her Shousen over his chest. After a few minutes of desperate healing, she looked back to that glazed eye, and then up at the person holding him. "He's…not going to make it," she reported, "he's dead."

"I…understand, Shizune-san." The man said roughly. But even the anbu members could not escape the small nudges of emotion that took hold of them, and she turned away before she could see anymore of his shaking hands.

Instead, she walked over to Gai and the Hokage, looking up at the shinobi who looked over them. "Report their status," she instructed.

"Maito Gai is under muscle strain. Hokage-sama is unconscious after Sakura-taicho's treatment to his arm. It was injured, but there is a high possibility that he will retain the ability to perform jutsu." A woman's voice from underneath a Sparrow mask reported.

Shizune nodded. That was fine. Sakura was a genius at iryou-ninjutsu, to have learned so much after starting so late. She trusted the girl's diagnoses. She smoothed down her still-damp kimono and looked around to see if anyone else needed treatment.

"Shizune-san!" A voice called from behind her.

She turned quickly, to see that the man with the cracked Raccoon mask was being thrust in her way.

"He's breathing!" The person holding him yelled, "please, treat him!"

She frowned, "he can't be breathing," she explained, putting a hand on his chest to check anyway, "he died a long time ago, the twitches you see are just nerve activity-"

Shizune stilled when she felt the person's heart beating.

ooooo

_Stop! _The Demon Fox yelled, _you cannot do this! _

_I'm taking my chances. _

_No, I refuse to help! _

_I don't need your help. I can take your chakra by force, if I need to._

Kurama roared and stood up, paws slamming against the bars, _you do not know what you are doing, brat! It will not go as easily as you think! He may not be himself anymore!_

"I'm taking my chances," Naruto whispered out loud as he headed full speed to the tree Tsunade baa-chan had pointed to. When he reached it, he didn't hesitate to run up the bark, tendrils of orange chakra spiraling around him.

_Get back! _The Kyuubi yelled, _this is it! It's finally over! The resilience of time is taking over your mind!_

_It's not the resilience of time, _Naruto said grimly, _it's me trying to save my precious people. _

The bijuu continued to scream at him, but he shut away the voices, instead reaching the branch where two figures were sitting. The first figure was easily distinguished by the long, dark hair that fell over his shoulder like a curtain. He was leaning over a frailer form cloaked in a green haori, and his purple-lined eyes were wide. For some reason, Tonton was beside him, balancing her small hoofs on the unconscious figure's arm.

"Pein-sama!" Orochimaru hissed, shaking the thin man's shoulders when he didn't receive a reply. He turned sharply when he noticed Naruto's approach. "Uzumaki Naruto," he said carefully, "I didn't expect to have to deal with you this soon." He slowly released Nagato's form.

"I'm not here for you," Naruto replied calmly, "Tsunade baa-chan wants you alive, and I can understand that. I'm here for Nagato."

"Buhi!" Tonton leapt out of Orochimaru's lap and bounded over to his feet, but Naruto ignored her, instead walking down the wide branch.

Orochimaru sighed, and ran a hand through his long hair, wondering if he had done something, "Nagato is-" he stilled when he saw Naruto draw a kunai from his pouch.

"Get out of the way," Naruto instructed, walking around the snake sannin to where Nagato was laying. The frail form didn't move, but Tsunade baa-chan had already told him that he was paralyzed. That would make it much easier.

"What are you doing?" Orochimaru hissed from behind him.

Naruto didn't pause. He knelt down beside Nagato's body and held the kunai out, "Nagato, can you hear me?" In his absolute concentration, he missed the fact that Nagato's red Uzumaki hair had become a pale white.

"No, he can't. He-"

"Quiet!" He shot back, "if he can't hear then it's fine. It's not like he'll remember anyway." Naruto looked down into the eyes of the Rinnegan, which were wide open. With that, he brought the blade of the kunai to hover over the irises. Inside his mind, Kyuubi was roaring at the top of his lungs.

"Stop, you little fool!" Orochimaru's pale wrist came over his shoulder, trying to wrestle the kunai out of his hands, "what are you doing?"

Naruto made to push him off the tree, but then he looked down again and paused, hand frozen above Nagato's face. There was something about those eyes that was slightly off. Even under paralysis, a person's eyes wouldn't look so…

"Pein-sama is dead!" The snake sannin rasped, "I think he did something earlier, and now he's not breathing. He told me to give you his thanks, which you don't seem to deserve right now." He grabbed the kunai from the boy's hands and flung it away.

"Oh," Naruto said, looking down at Nagato's body. "_Oh_."

**ooooo**

**There will be one more chapter, and then the 'epilogue/aftermath'. The continuation, 'Lightning Speed', will start right after this fic is completed (its first chapter will be uploaded along with the epilogue of this fic), so keep an eye out for that.**

**Another quick note - Orochimaru did not turn into a good person. He's still the same person he always was, but I play with the idea that he's adaptable, and will do what's best for_ himself_ given the circumstances. The reason I chose him for this role? Because he's the only serious villain in Naruto without a tragic background (if he has one, please don't spoil ;_;). I play with the idea that while the ones who have their hearts in the right places are defeated, the only one who does crime for its own sake comes through alive, albeit trapped.**

**Review, please ^^!**


	51. The Godaime Hokage & The Third Promise

**Chapter 50 – The Godaime Hokage & The Third Promise**

When Kakashi managed to crack open his eyes, he registered vague pain. It radiated from his arm, and he turned his head slightly to see a pink-haired with her hands over her eyes, shivering slightly. Beyond her was another figure, and there was someone on his other side. But he was having trouble focusing his eyes.

"Sakura…" his voice was too quiet. He tried to cough but his entire throat felt red and rough and horribly scratchy. But the pressing issue was the pain in his hand. "Sakura, my hand…you're knee is on it…Sasuke, tell her to get off my hand…it's going numb…Tenzo-kun, is that you? Mou…let go…I can't breathe…"

"Kakashi-senpai!"

"Sensei! Tsunade-sama! Get over here, Kakashi-sensei talked! I think he's breathing!"

"I won't be able to for much…longer if you don't…let go of me…" Sakura was almost breaking his arm, but…when did Tenzo get that strong?

When he finally untangled himself from Yamato's and Sakura's grasps, he felt his head spin like mad. _Where did…otou-san go?..._

He looked around, observing the three people sitting around him. Sasuke was frozen in place, slightly wide-eyed. For an Uchiha, it probably translated to unimaginable shock. That bird…Yatagarasu…it was sitting on his arm, watching him with beady eyes. Kakashi recalled that he had something to say about that bird, but that could wait for later. When his throat felt better. Sakura was looking at him…teary-eyed? Exactly how many years had it been since she last cried? Four? Five?

"Pass him."

The voice came from somewhere behind him and he felt another pair of hands on his back. His vision was still spinning with the same intensity as his head. In front of him, Sasuke and Sakura and Yamato were becoming blurrier, but he was too tired to focus his sight.

He had died, he knew it. He had used up every lash drop of chakra during Amaterasu, and he had taken Obito down with him. So…why was Sasuke smiling and why was Sakura crying in relief and why were there hands on his shoulders emitting the comforting feeling he associated with the Shousen of an iryounin?

"He's…fine," the voice came again. It was a deep voice, rich and commanding. Tsunade-sama's voice. "He's perfectly fine." It sounded almost awed.

"It's probably Naruto-baka," Sakura was smiling uncontrollably, and rubbing the tears from her eyes, "I bet he went and found a jutsu for resurrection like I said. It's probably illegal too. Great. Now we'll all just have to become missing-nin." The smile never diminished.

"Ch. The dobe has a talent for achieving the impossible," Sasuke admitted reluctantly, "now if he could only achieve the _possible _too, _then _he'd really be something." The hand holding the crow was raised high, but the bird wasn't paying attention to any of them. It was looking up into the sky and ruffling its feathers. Kakashi's eyes lingered on it briefly before turning to look around.

"Don't be silly, I'm not going to exile him," came Tsunade-sama's voice again, "whatever he did, I'll make it legal if I have to. If this is his doing."

Kakashi had to slowly gather together the voice to speak, but it came out too quietly. "Where's…"

"You, Uchiha boy, you don't look that tired-"

"Tsunade-sama, I'll have you know that-"

"Shut up kid, I didn't ask you. Go help Shizune. Just do whatever she tells you to, she'll probably need help carrying people."

Kakashi vaguely recognized the dark-haired blob stand up, muttering under his breath as he went to do Tsunade-sama's bidding. He tried to turn his head but his neck was too stiff. His sight was returning, but it was slow. It seemed that he would be seeing blobs for a while longer.

"You, Tenzo-"

"My name is Yamat-"

"Go see to Nagato and Orochimaru," Tsunade's voice was saying, "Nagato's paralysis should be wearing off by now. Sakura, stay here with Kakashi until he can move properly. I'll survey the area, and find Naruto."

Find…Naruto? Kakashi's eyes widened slightly. Naruto was…missing? "Where's…Naruto?" He croaked, finally loud enough to be heard. His head spun with the effort of saying the words and his throat was burning raw.

"Kashi-sensei!"

When the whirl of orange filled his vision, Kakashi sighed and submitted himself to being deprived of his breathe once again.

ooooo

Thirty minutes later, Sasuke was thoroughly annoyed. He wanted to go back and speak to his sensei about what happened, but he was being put through slave-labor by some iryounin-lady. Finished with transporting the final patients off the lake that the fish-Akatsuki-member had created, he handed the man off and reveled in standing on pure, solid ground once again.

Yatagarasu was perched in a tree nearby. Sasuke thought of being more attentive to the bird, but something told him that it would never actually fly away.

Nearby, the three injured anbu were sitting down with their backs to the same tree. Beside them stood two figures. One was the red-haired boy, Gaara, and the other was a blond kunoichi he vaguely remembered as the lady who had entered the village with Tsunade-sama. He walked over to them in curiosity.

The red-haired boy looked up as he approached, pausing in his conversation with the kunoichi. "Uchiha Sasuke," he greeted.

"Gaara," Sasuke nodded, "from our chunin exams. And…Yugito-san. How are you both here? You are not from Konoha." He glanced up at Yugito's Kumo hitai-ite.

Gaara and Yugito looked at each other, as if wondering what they should say. Sasuke's eyes narrowed, since he could already figure out that it wouldn't be the truth.

"You should ask Tsunade-sama, or Kakashi-san," Yugito told him, crossing her arms over her chest, "and besides, there's nothing wrong with us coming to help our Konoha allies. I realize that Kumo is not an allied country, but I think Tsunade-sama will deal with the politics for us."

"Do either of you have any idea what just _happened_?" He asked, allowing the irritation to spill into his voice, "where did Kakashi-sensei and Obito-san go? What was that spinning jutsu Naruto used? Where did Tsunade-sama and Yamato-taicho come from? Who on earth is this 'Nagato' everyone mentions?"

The two stared back at him with twinges of pity. Yugito was about to speak, but she looked behind him and smiled slightly in recognition, "ah, Shizune. Finished?"

Sasuke turned around, more irritated at having his questions brushed off. The dark-haired iryounin lady was approaching, wiping her hands off on her kimono. She came to stand by them and give him a tired smile.

"Yes. All the uninjured anbu members have started to head back to Konoha to inform the council of what has happened. I will need your help again in transporting the injured ones, and Tsunade-sama and the others will probably come later on," she said.

Sasuke groaned inwardly at the thought of more labor. But he nodded anyway, and turned around to see if he could sneak back to where Kakashi-sensei was before he started. Instead, he saw a figure walk out from behind the trees. A person he'd never seen before, but still recognized well. He'd heard too many descriptions, after all.

The snake sannin came closer when he saw them. The bright pig in his arms contrasted sharply with his plain, slightly damp clothing and dark hair. Sasuke turned to see how the others would react, to see if what Tsunade-sama had said was really true. Gaara and Yugito were looking on impassively, but Shizune had a bright smile on her face.

"Tonton!" She yelled, rushing past him.

Orochimaru eagerly thrust the animal into her arms, "take the pig. I found it farther down in the forest."

Shizune held Tonton close, whispering comforting words into her ear while Orochimaru looked on, wondering at his teammate's choice in student. Finally, he grew tired of waiting for her to look up. "Pein-sama is dead," he said plainly, "that other man, the one who was one of my subjects, is taking his body to Tsunade. She's still on the water, so I will have to wait."

Gaara narrowed his eyes, "he cannot be dead, the trigger hasn't gone…" Shizune's proximity was what held him back from attacking. That and the fact that Orochimaru had given them information, and had evidently been with Nagato.

"I suspect he killed himself, somehow," Orochimaru went on, "I'm not sure of the details. That Uzumaki Naruto boy tried to kill him, but I managed to stop him."

There was silence at this, and Sasuke was looking out with growing unrest, willing _someone _to speak up and tell him what was happening. But everyone was too busy looking shocked, and he was left to speculate in silence on who the dobe almost killed.

"That is strange," Gaara said slowly, "he is impulsive, but he would not do something so rash. But I have to return to Suna, so I will ask for the rest of the information later on, through letter." He turned to leave.

"I'll…be heading back to Ame, then," Yugito said in a slightly higher voice, "I have to go back to see…" she paused, throwing a glance at Sasuke. "Anyway, tell Tsunade-sama that I left. Since his body is still safe, the trigger will not go."

When she walked past him, Orochimaru turned to watch her with his purple lined eyes, "to Ame? I'm assuming you'll be seeking out the others who came with you?"

Yugito shot him a glare, wondering why he was speaking to her.

"Find Konan-sama," he said between gritted teeth, reluctantly, "he had this silly little message for her..."

Sasuke watched as Anko's former sensei whispered a few words to the blond kunoichi, and his eyes followed her as she nodded sharply and then shunshined into the trees, headed east. This was starting to become infuriating. He turned the full extent of his glare on Orochimaru, but the snake sannin brushed it off, as if wordlessly conveyed that he'd seen better.

"Fine," he hissed, "I'll just drag it out of Naruto when I see him. If he lets go of Kakashi-sensei sometime in the near future."

"Let us recover first, Sasuke," Shizune advised with a smile, holding Tonton and looking elated at having found her safe, "maybe Kakashi-san will tell you about it all later on. For now, you can just help me carry these patients…"

"Sasuke-kun," a new voice emerged from the direction of the lake, and the three of them turned to see Sai walking towards them, still dressed in those green tights. When Shizune saw them, her eyebrows went high. Before, she'd been too busy healing, but now…

"Sai?" She asked, incredulously, "why are you wearing?..." Those were _definitely _Gai's tights. She had to admit that they fit Gai's built physique well, but on Sai they were just strange.

"They were presented to me by Gai-san," Sai explained with a bland smile, "they are very comfortable. I don't think I'll be wearing them for long, though."

Shizune sighed in relief. That would have been too weird.

"Why?" Sasuke asked, "you were going on and on about how comfortable they were. Throughout out entire mission."

Sai pulled at the waist of the tights, "for short periods of time, yes. But to wear on a daily basis…I am not sure how Gai-san manages to stand them," he said pensively, "these tights are slightly uncomfortable when you have a large-"

"I'm sorry I asked," Sasuke said quickly, "you can finish that sentence there."

"It's fine, Sasuke-kun," Sai told him, "I understand that some people are rather sensitive about these things."

"What things?" Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"Well, I managed to deduce it when I realized that the only girl your age who was _never _attracted to you is the one who could potentially see through your clothing," Sai replied matter-of-factly.

Sasuke choked on his breath, and Shizune's laugher filled the area.

ooooo

Haruno Sakura sighed, "come on, Naruto. Move, or help me carry him, at least."

"I can walk, actually," Kakashi offered helpfully, voice sore and scratchy but better than before, "my sight has returned, and my movements seem normal. If you could only convince him to let go of me, I'll be perfectly fine."

Naruto ignored them for another minute, and then reluctantly parted when Kakashi sighed and gently pushed him off. He sat back and regarded his two teammates.

"Where's Sasuke? Does he know?"

"Yeah," Sakura nodded, "he's gone to help Shizune-san. They're all heading back to Konoha, and we'll be going too. Yamato-taicho is over there with Tsunade-sama, and I think he's holding another patient."

Naruto turned back to see Yamato standing there beside the Slug Sannin, carrying the body of Uzumaki Nagato. Thinking of it made his insides clench up in shame at what he'd almost done. Even Kyuubi had sensed it, and was laying quietly instead of continuing to berate him. He turned back to Kakashi. "Sensei, it's finished. Our…mission is complete."

"I suppose it is," he replied, using Sakura's shoulder to slowly push himself to his feet. At that moment, he seemed to realize something else. He looked around, and then down at him, patting the pockets of his flak jacket.

Seeing that, Sakura reached into her iryounin pouch and drew out a length of thicker bandages, slicing them with a kunai and holding them out. "It fell off," she explained, "I think he ripped it. You'll have to make do with a different color for a while."

"Maa, I suppose I've needed a new look," Kakashi took the bandage cloth and began tying it around his face, covering all that his mask had done. Naruto looked on disappointedly.

"But we've already seen it! You're still going to wear your mask, sensei?"

"Old habits are hard to break," he explained calmly, "were there any casualties?"

"One casualty in anbu division one," Sakura reported, "and…." She glanced at Naruto, who was quiet, "Jiraiya-sama."

"Oh," Kakashi replied, "I see. He…won't be able to write any more books."

"I'm sorry, sensei," Sakura bit her lip.

"That's too bad. I wanted to know if Jio would end up with Miyu or Katsue," he looked up into the cloudy sky, and was glad that his face was covered once again.

ooooo

One hour later, the two living Sannin were walking in through the gates of Konoha, with Naruto, Sakura, and Kakashi trailing behind them. Word had spread when the anbu, the Hokage, Yamato, and Shizune had arrived earlier, and they found themselves faced with a small crowd. It was made up mostly of chunin and jonin on duty, who had come immediately upon hearing that an s-rank battle had occurred. At the front of the crowd were two people Tsunade hoped she wouldn't be seeing for a long while, but resigned herself to dealing with.

"Lovely," Orochimaru whispered from behind her, holding Nagato's body, "they'll recognize me within seconds."

"Just stay quiet," she muttered back, "I overrule them."

"No you don't," he hissed, "no one but the Hokage overrules them."

"We'll see."

The two figures stepped forward, and Utatane Koharu spoke first. "Tsunade, what on _earth _has just happened? Hiruzen is in the hospital, and the iryounin council member and former anbu who returned before have refused to say anything until you arrived!"

"We demand to know," Homura added, arms held stiffly in his sleeves.

Tsunade closed her eyes and took a deep breath, knowing what she had to do. The words reverberated in her head, as clearly as if he was standing beside her and speaking into her ear.

_Konoha needs its next Hokage, after all. _

"Out of my way," she instructed, "I have other issues to take care of first. Book an appointment with me if you need to, preferably in a year or so."

Homura narrowed his eyes, "and who are you to demand an _appointment_?"

When Orochimaru realized what she was going to do, he sighed and ran a hand through his hair. If Jiraiya was an _open _lover of introductions, their hime was a _closeted _one.

Tsunade gave the two council members a look that made them almost back away on instinct, "I am Senju Tsunade, the Slug Sannin. My grandfather was the Shodai, my Great-Uncle was the Nidaime, and starting today I am Konoha's Godaime Hokage!"

There was silence in the crowd, and then whispers began to break out. Behind her, Naruto and Sakura beamed with pride. Kakashi sighed with relief.

"B-but Sandaime-sama is still here! He's recovering in the hospital!" A nearby jonin shouted.

"He's retired!" Tsunade snapped at the jonin, making him recoil on impulse.

Koharu frowned deeply, "he did not officially state that-"

"I'm retiring him!" She stalked forwards, gesturing for Orochimaru to follow her with Nagato. There was something she had to do, and it had to be done quickly.

Homura stepped in her way and cleared his throat, "I believe Hatake Kakashi has already been nominated as his successor," he stated, throwing a look back at where the Copy-nin was standing, with one hand on Naruto's shoulder for support.

Tsunade turned back to look at Kakashi.

Kakashi took a small step back, "Maa, I'd would like to retire now. I nominate Tsunade-sama to succeed me."

"Wow, sensei. You've just become the lamest kage in history," Naruto observed happily, "you lasted around five seconds." Beside him, Sakura started to giggle, and Kakashi gave her a patronizing look.

"I don't want to be anywhere near that position," he muttered, "and besides, she's Hiruzen's student, and the perfect candidate. Usually a coup is done by defeating the previous kage, but no one doubts that she could do that, at this point. The next generation surpasses the previous one, after all."

The crowd was still filled with murmurs and confusion, and vague comments rose up.

"Does he still get a face on the mountain?"

"Of course not, you idiot! You have to actually _be _the Hokage for that!"

"Is it a coup if the Sandaime is fine with it?"

"_Will _he be fine with it?"

"Who's that person standing beside her? And is that one of her patients? He's so thin!"

At this point, Tsunade was more than a little annoyed. A vein pulsed in her forehead as she strode forward and pushed past the two elders. "If you want to be of use, bring Shizune to operating room in the Hokage's tower. I'm going to perform surgery and I need my assistant."

But a new figure stepped forwards from the crowd, and she narrowed her eyes again when he turned to look at Orochimaru.

"Who is this?" Shimura Danzo asked, regarding the snake sannin and Nagato's limp form, "surely an iryounin as talented as you can see that person is dead."

Kakashi frowned. Sandaime-sama's two teammates were strict and relentless, but they were ultimately loyal to him. Danzo, on the other hand…people said strange things about him, and it was no secret that he was after the position of Hokage for himself. Tsunade was probably the only one who could deal with him, but it wouldn't be easy for her.

"I _realize _that," she hissed, "I…need to perform an autopsy. A shinobi's body can reveal many secrets." That was the closest excuse she could think of. After all, she couldn't admit that she wanted to retrieve the eyes and lock them up so that Nagato's body could be sent back to Jiraiya's other student.

"And why," Danzo went on quietly, "is Orochimaru here?" His eyes were now fixed on the person carrying Nagato. Even thought the differences in form, he could still recognize the snake sannin well.

The crowd burst into heated whispers again. Most of them hadn't heard his words, but they saw the look on his face. Behind them, Naruto and Sakura wondered if they should step in. But they held back, because it was something Tsunade-sama had taken on by herself, and only she could deal with it. Orochimaru was gritting his teeth, and looking like he wanted to melt into the ground. Maybe the Ame prisons weren't so bad after all.

"I will explain later on, but he is no threat," she said in a low voice, "move aside, Danzo. I have an autopsy to perform, and then I have an office to claim. The sooner I figure out sensei's overly-complicated filing system, the better."

Before she could move, six anbu figures shunshined down to stand in front of her, and she felt like ripping her hair out at all the distractions. She placed her hands on her hips and glared at them.

"Now what?" She grumbled, "aren't you all the masks who were with us out there? Why aren't you in the hospital?"

"We are recovered," Anteater reported, "we need to know when we must submit our reports for widespread verification." They had arrived in time to hear her take the position of Hokage, and anbu didn't ask questions. The other five looked at her expectantly. It was better to do it quickly, before they began to forget minor details. The Sandaime Hokage had always asked for it by the next day. The chunin invasion reports had been a nightmare, and they all groaned at having to repeat it.

"You're _all _going to write reports?" She asked incredulously, "what's the point of that? I was _there, _I don't need ten different recollections of the same event."

"You're…going to write it yourself?" Anteater asked hopefully.

"Of course not," she huffed, "you do it, long-nose. I'll just read over it to make sure everything fits. The rest of you can readmit yourselves into the hospital."

At that moment, the crowd realized that Senju Tsunade was going to make a great Hokage indeed. Because even though the council members looked like they were on the verge of planning assassination, she already had the undying love and loyalty of her anbu.

Except for Anteater. Anteater hated her.

ooooo

It took Tsunade one hour to sort through the chaos, and she locked herself up inside an operating room with Shizune and Orochimaru and Nagato and demanded that no one disturb her for three hours.

Kakashi was admitted into an intensive care room, even though he insisted that he was fine and that all he needed was his mask. Mainly because the bandages were itchy. Sakura and Naruto never left his side, and when Sasuke finally finished running errands for Shizune he came storming into the room.

"Alright, dobe," he hissed, pulling a chair up near their sensei's bed, "if you don't spit everything out this minute, I will make sure you never sleep properly again. It's been a while since I threatened you with Anko-sensei's threats, but it's about time."

Naruto winced. He calmly turned around to open the curtains of the hotel room, allowing the late evening light to filter through and trying to delay the moment.

"I'm curious too," Sakura bit her lip, "what happened? Where's…Obito-san?"

"He won't be a problem in the near future," Kakashi spoke up quickly, "I dealt with him."

There was silence, and this time it was heavier. Naruto gulped audibly, knowing that he really didn't want to reveal everything. "Um…our mission was classified," he said, "we can't really tell you anything. Sai came to get us, and we try to rush over as fast as possible to help out."

"And what happened when you disappeared, sensei?" Sakura asked, "where did you go? And…how did you almost die? More importantly, how did you come back to life? Naruto says it wasn't his doing."

Kakashi tilted his head to one side, and then his eye crinkled into a smile, "maa, it was just a jutsu," he saw that she looked completely unsatisfied, and reluctantly went on, "remember how you told me that it was impossible for chakra to remain without form for too long? I used Amaterasu to test that, and he lasted for around five minutes. But those five minutes of using it killed me, because once your chakra is depleted the Sharingan draws on your life force."

"Just like what happened to Itachi…" she breathed, "but then how did you defeat him? What was that eye for?"

"Maa, that's classified too. And the…jutsu that bought me back to life is…not something for you to know. Curiosity is good, Sakura, but sometimes it can be harmful. Maybe I'll tell you both one day, but not now," he turned to Sasuke, "where is the bird, the one with the Sharingan eye?" He asked.

"Ch. I left the stupid thing in my apartment," Sasuke crossed his arms and leaned back in the chair, "it's horrible. I tried to give it rice but it almost bit my fingers off instead."

"You could just remove the eye," Sakura suggested, "I'm pretty good at extractions. I can do it, if you want." She'd learned from experience, after all.

His annoyed expression changed, "no," he said firmly, "I'll keep the stupid bird." It was Itachi's bird. The least he could do was put up with some finger biting. "Birds are simple animals, aren't they? Maybe I'll try giving it meat, or something."

Naruto grinned, knowing that it was about as sentimental as an Uchiha could get. Beside him, Sakura realized something else.

"So…how exactly did my mission go?" She asked worriedly, "I mean, is this considered a success?..."

"I would be very surprised if you aren't listed as a jonin by the time the reports are handed in," Kakashi informed her, "congratulations, Sakura. In a few more years I'll be eagerly awaiting reading your bingo book entry."

"Maybe we can hand her head in for the bounty," Naruto grumbled, "this isn't fair! I made chunin first and now I'm the only one who's not a jonin?!"

"Ch, too bad," the smirk was back on Sasuke's face.

Kakashi reached over to pat his student's arm, and his eye was still crinkled into a smile, "I suppose you're the only active student I have left, then. Maybe we should work on more chakra control later on."

Naruto buried his head in his hands.

"-Besides, if the invasion hadn't happened, Sakura would have made chunin too," he pointed out, "Sasuke…well…"

"He's wouldn't have had a chance," Sakura finished, "his first opponent ran away because his face was scary, and he lasted thirty seconds against the second one."

Sasuke muttered incoherently under his breath.

At that moment, the door to the hospital room swung open, and Shizune peered in, smiling brightly when she saw the original Team Seven gathered inside.

"I've stayed in bed, I swear," Kakashi said quickly, "I haven't gotten up since Tsuande-sama threw me in here. Not once. Just ask Sakura."

Shizune laughed, "Kakashi-san, Tsunade-sama wishes to see you in her office," she informed him mirthfully, "right now."

Kakashi frowned, "but she warned me to stay in bed under threat of castration-"

"And now she wants you in her office, sensei," Naruto said sagely, "that's just how Tsunade baa-chan is, and we'll all get used to it eventually."

ooooo

Twenty minutes later, the Godaime Hokage, Danzo, and Sai were all waiting within the Hokage's office.

"Where is he?" Danzo demanded, glaring out of his revealed eye, "I believe you summoned him here almost fifteen minutes ago."

Tsunade shrugged from her position behind the Hokage's desk, "Kakashi tends to be late sometimes," she said vaguely.

"He's around two hours late on average," Sai offered helpfully. He stood behind Danzo's chair, hands clasped in front of him. Thankfully, he had changed out of his green tights and was in his anbu outfit once again.

Danzo narrowed his eyes, "such lack of diligence cannot be tolerated," he said, "I do expect that you will deal with him, Tsunade."

"No need." The office door opened, and Hatake Kakashi strolled in with his hands in his pockets, "I didn't plan to come late, anyway. I just had to make a short trip back to my apartment to retrieve a mask." He walked over and helped himself to the other seat. "So what is this meeting for?"

"Danzo seems to have something to tell us," Tsunade said, turning to regard her council member, "go on. There are no anbu hidden in this room, and no one will hear you."

He frowned, "no security in the Hokage's office? How lax of you, Tsunade."

"The Hokage's office has all the security it needs," she said firmly, "_I'm _here. Go on, speak."

There were a few minutes of silence while Danzo looked at both of them, as if questioning whether he wanted to continue. Finally, he made his decision, and turned to the pale boy standing behind him. "Show them."

Sai nodded. He retrieved a sketchbook from his pouch and flipped it to a page somewhere in the middle. Then he turned it to show them, and Kakashi's eyes narrowed when he saw a perfect, realistic drawing of the eye in Itachi's crow. The swirls of the four drawn-out tomoe were slightly asymmetrical, but it was still unmistakable.

"I did not see it too closely, so this was the best I could draw," he explained, "Danzo-sama was able to recognize it."

"Indeed," Danzo went on, "Kakashi-san, I have a proposal for you. From what Tsunade has said, it is clear that neither of you knows what this eye can do. If you tell me where you received that bird, and who it was used on, I will tell you what it does."

Kakashi narrowed his eyes, "you know about this?" At Danzo's nod, he reluctantly spoke, "fine. That seems fair."

Danzo settled back in his chair. With a wave of his hand, he dismissed Sai, who immediately shunshined away. Then he began to speak slowly, as if careful in what he was divulging. Tsunade looked on with her fingers steepled beneath her chin.

"It is Koto Amatsukami," he said, "the doujutsu that only Uchiha Shisui was able to manifest. It is the ultimate genjutsu which, when used on a person, will draw them in to follow one command _out of their own will. _When it resided in Shisui's body, it was only free for use once every ten years, and I have never found out where the eyes went after his death."

The obvious question was _how _Danzo knew this, but Kakashi knew better than to ask. Instead, he nodded, resigning himself to fulfilling his part of the deal. "I received the bird from Uchiha Itachi," he told him, "it was put in me without my consent, and I did not know what it did. It was used on Uchiha Obito, although I'm not sure how it happened. The command…I can't guess on what it was, but it was probably somewhere along the lines of not killing me." That would explain why Itachi had stated that he was the only one who could fight him.

Danzo nodded, "it was probably set to respond to this Obito's eyes," he muttered, "that makes sense. I was there when Itachi was give his orders, I suppose he must have taken Shisui's eye before killing him."

Tsunade nodded, "now that this is cleared up, Kakashi can get back to his hospital bed. Danzo, you are dismissed as well." She watched her council member slowly stand up, shooting her one last apprehensive glance before he left. Kakashi lingered to give her a look of firm support before following him out the office door.

For a while, the office was silent. Behind her, the wide windows that revealed Konohagakure in its entirely seemed to bear down on her, pressuring and encouraging her at the same time. Senju Tsunade closed her eyes, allowing all the results of the day to pour into her at once.

There was no more time for tears. She was finished with that. There was only time to take a deep, shuddering breath before opening her eyes slowly, looking at _her _office with new determination. To look at the shelves of scrolls along one wall, and the dim evening sunlight that filtered through to illuminate the scuffed wooden desk. The chair was solid under her, the chair that Hiruzen-sensei had sat on for over twenty years, as the longest ruling Hokage in history.

His mantle was so large. So large to assume.

But Tsunade knew she'd learn eventually. Of course, she would have Sakura sneak her sake because all that stupid paperwork was unimportant. Besides, if the Sandaime could have his closet ecchi books to keep him sane, then she could have her sake.

But she would take home the shinobi files and read them every night, whether she was drunk or sober, awake or tired. Because Hiruzen-sensei had known the names of every shinobi under his command and she had to learn them too. And maybe she would go visit him in the small house he owned within the Sarutobi grounds and wail to him about all the work, but he would laugh and tell her than she could do it, and that would be encouragement enough.

_You dumped a big role on me, but I'll do this, Jiraiya. _

It was funny how out of the three of them, she had become their sensei's successor. From the very beginning he'd gotten along fine with Orochimaru's goal of mastering ninjutsu and Jiraiya's fuuinjutsu, but he'd always scratched his head at her iryouninjutsu. And now she was sitting in his chair, the second iryounin to ever become a Kage.

Then her hand ambled to the drawer beneath the desk, and she found herself wondering about the small glass jar inside. The jar that held two small, purple spheres, floating in preservation liquid. It was strange how much power was held in those two spheres.

When she had finished composing herself, she looked at the side door, the one that led to the small waiting room.

"You can come in now," she called.

The door swung open and Orochimaru entered, dressed in standard-issue jonin wear once again, but without the flak jacket that would declare him as a shinobi. Getting out of the prisoner clothes had been the first thing he'd done upon arriving. He glanced around the office impassively before settling in the chair in front of her desk.

"Are you ever going to tell me? I know you'll tell me eventually, if I'm here long enough, but what you say will probably help me discern how long it will take," he said dryly.

She couldn't help but smile at his typical matter-of-fact tone, "I don't plan on telling you anything."

"Ah, you'll last around four months, then," he observed, "impressive, for you. You and that idiot are more alike than you think. I think he's rubbed off on you far too much, the old Tsunade would have killed me and been done with it." He said it far too calmly, as if he knew it was impossible now.

Tsunade gritted her teeth, "no matter how far you fell, sensei never stopped loving you. I'm going to pick up his mantle, and if that means seeing you as a teammate again, then so be it."

"Fools," there was a small smirk on his face, but it wasn't entirely patronizing, "all of you. Brave ones, too. The worst kind."

She grinned, "Jiraiya fulfilled his promise to sensei after all, didn't he? What was it, again? Ah, right, 'I'll drag that snake-teme back here if it's the last thing I do!'"

"He certainly was dramatic," Orochimaru agreed, "but what exactly am I doing now?"

"I need you to write a sealing scroll for me," she said suddenly, "I need to seal something that's been entrusted to me in a scroll small enough to carry with me all the time. It has to last for a long time, too."

He raised an eyebrow, "do I look like a fuuinjutsu master to you? The second last one alive died a few hours ago, and you're the great-niece of one of the greatest fuuinjutsu masters in history. You can do it yourself."

She sighed, "I'll activate the scroll, I just need you to draw it. I'm sure you'll have fun researching how to do it. I don't have time to do it myself, and it would take me a lot longer than it would take you."

"Ask one of your jonin. I'm sure they'll love to have a special project from the Hokage," he said lightly, "there are still some promising ones, aren't there?"

"I'll give you an S-rank's pay for it, for as long as you take," Tsunade leaned back in the chair, "I can't have anyone else knowing about it, and since you already know, you're my only choice."

His purple-lined eyes widened imperceptibly, "ah, you want to protect _those. _I see. Well, you shouldn't reveal your cards so soon, Tsunade. I see why you're so unlucky with gambling, now. You're not good at keeping your intentions hidden. I really _am _your only choice, aren't I?"

She frowned, urging him to go on.

"An s-rank's pay, and access to any fuuinjutsu research material in Konoha, no matter how classified," he put forth, "I'm sure you'll be willing. After all, I'll have to come to you if I want to activate anything. It's just for a small, troublesome project I have to do. If I don't do it, living here will probably be further hell."

Tsunade thought about it for a long moment. What one earth could he need to do with fuuinjutsu?...When she realized it, a small smile tugged at her lips. "Of course. Good luck, Orochimaru. I know you'll figure it out somehow."

He crossed his arms, "I don't need luck. I need one month. Keep my name hidden for one month."

She nodded, "I will."

ooooo

When Naruto left the hospital, he found himself wandering around. Mainly because Kakashi-sensei had the key to their apartment, and he was currently at some meeting with Tsunade baa-chan.

Sakura and Sasuke had already left to go see to their family and new bird respectively. Yamato-senpai was helping Shizune in the hospital. He seemed to be glancing her way rather often. Naruto wondered if he knew she was already with Gai-sensei. But Gai-sensei was still in the hospital, and he wasn't allowed any visitors for the next few days. Tenten was probably there yelling at the iryounin while Neji quietly threatened them with the Hyuga clan's power. Lee, unfortunately, was missing out, since he was on a mission with Izumo and Kotetsu.

He walked past training ground seven, smiling at the large upturned rocks that were probably Sakura's doing, and at all the ink splatters here and there. The places that Sai sparred in ended up looking rather strange afterwards. Sasuke, of course, left no trace. He took after Kakashi-sensei in that way; most of his battles were silent and fast.

He stood in the middle of the grounds for a few minutes, and then figured that he could always enter the apartment though the window. Tsunade baa-chan would probably make Kakashi-sensei go back to the hospital, anyway.

That was why he was surprised when he saw a blue-clothed figure through the foliage at the edges of the training grounds, standing in front of a large memorial stone with his hands in his pockets.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto called, stepping into the area. There was an unspoken agreement among the members of team seven never to disturb their sensei while he was at the memorial, but for some reason, after all that had happened, this felt different.

Kakashi looked up, and his eye crinkled into a smile when he saw his blond student approach, "why didn't you head back?"

"Why didn't you?" Naruto questioned, stopping beside the jonin, "Tsunade baa-chan told you to go back to the hospital, didn't she? Do you _want _to be castrated?"

Kakashi shook his head, "maa, I'll be going in a moment. I just thought I'd stop by here first." He turned back to the grey tone, letting his eyes scan over one familiar name.

Naruto tilted his head to one side, confused. But he waited for a while, watching the orange sky and glimpses of sun in the distance. It was getting late, and cold, too. He shivered slightly.

He waited another long moment before speaking, "sensei are you thinking of Obito? He's…not actually dead anymore, is he?"

"No, he's not," Kakashi agreed, "I'm not thinking of him."

Naruto frowned. He turned back to the stone, but there were too many names carved on it to guess which one. "Who?"

"My former teammate, Rin," he said blankly, "she needs to know about him. Symbolically, at least. She would want to know." He'd never come to speak to Rin before. The way she had died was too guilt-ridden to think about. Nohara Rin had always been blurred into the stone by his mind, while Obito's and Minato-sensei's names had stood out against it.

She wasn't really listening, he knew that much. But coming here to convey the promise to her strengthened his resolve, and that was all he needed.

There were a few more moments of silence, in which Naruto watched his sensei curiously while they stood by the memorial stone. Finally, he looked forward, "it happens a lot, doesn't it? I mean, it happened to Ero-Sennin, and to Sasuke in my last timeline, and now to you, too. But Ero-Sennin got Orochimaru back in the end, and I held onto Sasuke this time and never let him go. So maybe you can do it too, sensei."

"No," Kakashi said firmly, narrowing his eyes at the stone, "I know better than anyone that Obito won't end up like Sasuke, or even like Orochimaru. Obito's too far gone, I've seen that for myself." He paused, "but there's something I _can _do. You told me about that promise you made before, and I'll do the same," his voice became louder in the still evening air. "Rin, even if it's during his last breath, I'll make Obito believe that the world is worth living in."

**ooooo**

**50 chapters, all the way to the end. Three months. Around 400,000 words. My first major writing project, and MKani's first epic-length. **

**Thank you, all the reviewers who've been here since the beginning! I still remember you, you know. I recognize your pennames and grin like a crazy person whenever a new review is left from you (^^). And thanks, everyone who joined in halfway! I hope you enjoyed :D ****And for those of you who'll stumble across this in the future, after it's finished, I hope you enjoyed the productions of my novice-writer self (^^). Feel free to review, and then years down the road when my phone beeps during a lecture or something, I'll see your review and smile :P**

**Cowriter's notes: I have another account just for romance fics under penname Riya3 (Mnsk is for action/humor/KtoTratedstuffthatwecanshowpeople) but I'll still publish some stories on this one too. I'll also be writing most of the continuation :D**

**As for romance in _this_ fic, well, it all goes the opposite way, doesn't it? At first, Hinata loved Naruto, Naruto loved Sakura, Sakura loved Sasuke, and Sasuke loved himself. Now they've all grown out of their crushes and Sasuke is one legal year away from having benefits with Anko. Most stories end in couples being formed, but I think these characters are already awesome enough by themselves (^^)**

**So we used to do a lot of 'review guessing' stuff, but we haven't done one in a while. So here's the final one: What's Orochimaru's project?**

**Thanks for reading (^^),**

**-INK and MKani **


	52. Aftermath

**Aftermath**

Utakata felt a strange twist in his stomach when it was time for them to leave Ame.

Yugito had arrived bearing good news about the trigger. Everything had gone well for the most part. Saiken was sitting back, satisfied with what the humans had managed to accomplish. B and Gyuki were having some sort of conversation in their head.

But she'd also asked to speak separately with 'someone called Konan', and although Utakata didn't hear her words, he saw Konan's face turn blank as stone. The beautiful leader of Ame went away shortly after, allowing them to leave by themselves. He watched her go, and pretended that he hadn't glimpsed the look of anguish on her face before she'd turned.

"Yugito, what exactly did you tell her?" He asked as they walked through the streets of the village, under the overhangs that shielded them from the rain.

"It's for her ears only," Yugito replied, "but it's alright, she'll be fine."

On her other side, B was looking at her confusedly, "how do you know, kono yaro?"

She shrugged, "you learn to recognize it, after a while. I've seen people who broke after hearing things like that. But she's not one of them. She's another like Tsunade-sama and Naruto and Kakashi-san, even if she's more…subtle."

"She'll have a lot on her shoulders," Utakata sighed, "an entire industry to rebuild, and months of excavation to be done. Will she handle that between her grieving? Maybe we should send word for Tsunade-sama to take Ame. They can do it at this point, and maybe Hi no Kuni's resources will help them recover."

"No need," Yugito said confidently, "Konan will look over this village."

ooooo

The next morning, the former Sandaime Hokage opened his hospital room door to see two familiar figures standing outside. He sighed.

"Koharu-san. Homura-san," he greeted wearily, "I am still under recovery. I must admit that this is not the best time to discuss foreign policy. May we put off our meeting until I am out of the hospital?"

His two teammates took in his bandages and the bags under his already wrinkled eyes. Homura looked like he wanted to be anywhere but there. Koharu looked the same, but she held a small package in her hand.

"We did not come for that," Homura said stiffly, "your position has been taken by your student, Tsunade. She has…er…'retired you'."

Hiruzen breathed a sigh of relief, "oh, good. I am surprised she took it so quickly, but she'll do well."

"We are inclined to disagree," Koharu stressed, "she has no patience for the wisdom of her council. This will be a long and arduous time for all of us."

He sighed. Typical Tsunade-chan, offending people on her first day as Hokage. Nevertheless, her name would definitely go down in history. Hiruzen smiled slightly. Taught by the Nidaime, became the Sandaime, nominated the Yondaime, and taught the Godaime. A good shinobi career track indeed.

"So why are you both here?" He questioned, glancing down at the package Koharu was holding.

His former teammate shoved the small, brown-paper wrapped box of _something _into his hands. "This is jackfruit," she said sternly, "eat it."

With that, she and Homura quickly closed the door and left. Hiruzen looked down at the small package and smiled.

ooooo

When Maito Gai opened his eyes, he blinked at the morning light streaming in through the hospital windows. When his eyes grew used to the brightness, the first person he saw was the Youthful and Radiant Kato Shizune, dressed in a pale iryounin uniform. He smiled widely and pushed himself up to his elbows, glad to see that she had stayed sitting by his bedside. What a Youthful and touching thing to do.

The grin melted away when he saw the murderous look on her face. But…his Shizune _never _looked angry. Sure, she was quite exasperated at times…most of the time…but anger was new. Anger was not good. He struggled to raise his aching arm and give her a weak thumbs-up.

"Shizune! How nice it is to-"

"You took Tonton."

By now he was quite sure that he was shaking. Wondering if he would regret it, he gulped audibly and gave her a questioning look.

"I told you to keep Tonton safe!" Shizune burst out, hugging her clipboard close, "you could have given her to someone responsible while you were away, but you decided to take her on a dangerous mission where she almost drowned and had to be saved by _Orochimaru_!"

Maito Gai was more frightened than he had been while fighting the Edo Tensei.

"She's sensitive!" his – former? – lover went on, "and she _hates _water!"

"I…" Gai wasn't sure what to say. He vaguely recognized that he had made a mistake. A big mistake. He wasn't sure what he would do if Shizune left him, but it would involve serenades and apologetic notes and flowers. LOTS of flowers.

For a while, the room was silent.

Five seconds, later, Gai was smiling in relief when the iryounin threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly, clipboard discarded to the side. His sore muscles were screaming, but he ignored them and weakly held her back, feeling the worry melt away. This was Shizune, after all. He should have known better than to think of such Unyouthful possibilities.

"I thought you were dead!" She sobbed, "you're not leaving this room for a month, not until you're fully healed!"

"I'll be fine," he assured, "I have gone through worse." He took to toning down the Youth around Shizune. She was Youthful enough as it was, even if Tsunade-sama occasionally made fun of her for having been single for almost thirty years.

"You're not going on another stupid S-rank without me on your team as your field medic," she mumbled into his shoulder.

"Nor would I want to!"

There was more silence, but it was a comfortable pause and Gai simply basked in both it and the wonderful feeling of Shizune in her rough iryounin uniform.

"She'll…she'll probably need pig therapy," Shizune eventually sniffed, clenching her fingers into his loose hospital gown.

"I shall learn how to perform this therapy immediately," Gai promised.

ooooo

Three hours later, two jonin were standing rather awkwardly in front of the same hospital room, deciding if they wanted to go in.

Hyuga Neji looked at the door of their sensei's hospital room, and then turned back to his teammate. "Tenten, is this really necessary?"

The kunoichi was making a valiant effort to stand her ground, "we have to do this," she told him, "Lee's out on his mission. Now it's our responsibility." She paused, "so…um…how do I look?"

"Sufficiently…green," Neji replied stiffly, "and…"

"You look…fine," Tenten replied, "I can't believe you actually kept that, though. I mean, I kept mine because I thought he was kind of cool at first even if I didn't want to wear it, and it's been collecting dust in my drawer for six years."

"Hn. I thought it made good memorabilia of my first day as a genin," the Hyuga boy replied, "I never thought I'd actually have to use it."

Tenten raised a fist in determination, "but this is our responsibility as his students!" She said, sounding more like she was trying to convince herself, "Gai-sensei has come back from an incredible battle against S-rank missing-nin and we must show our support!"

Neji nodded. He had to admit that he was slightly impressed. "Indeed," he said solemnly. Their sensei was…Youthful…but he was also a powerful shinobi.

"I'm not taking off my flak jacket, thought," she muttered, "this _really _wasn't made for kunoichi."

"I don't doubt that."

"Wasn't really made for you, either," she remarked, "you look horrible in green. You should stick to that loose-fitting Hyuga stuff."

Neji's eye twitched.

"Well, it's time," Tenten went on bravely, "let's do this, Neji."

"Agreed."

With that, the two pushed open Maito Gai's door. They entered immediately, before they could think of escaping and stripping naked.

Gai-sensei was sitting upright in his bed with a look of extreme concentration on his face while he tried to figure out what hospital-room training he could do without Shizune coming to yell at him. When he saw the two of them enter, he beamed, and then stilled as his eyes swept over their forms.

"Um…" Tenten cleared her throat, "we've…uh…come to wish you a…Youthful recovery." She shifted and tried to ignore how the fabric of the set of green tights clung to every inch of her.

"Indeed," Neji said stiffly, "may you be…forever Youthful." He smoothed his hands over the sleeves of his own pair of green tights.

Gai had tears in his eyes. "My Youthful students have come to wish me. Such a glorious thing it is, to be a sensei!" He yelled while sobbing. Then he held out his arms, "come, my students! Let us celebrate Youth together!"

Tenten and Neji sighed as they submitted themselves to their sensei's Most Youthful Embrace.

ooooo

Back in Konoha, Akimichi Chouji was glaring at Inuzuka Kiba. They were seated across from in each at Yakiniku-Q, in a Team Asuma and Team Kurenai dinner to celebrate the successful completion of their long A-rank. They had considered inviting Kakashi's team as well, but Naruto would've probably doubled the bill by himself.

"Erm…something wrong, Chouji?" Kiba asked nervously, wondering why the other boy was giving him a death glare.

"You took the last piece." Chouji stated.

"Aha, sorry about that. It's just that it was _there, _you know?" Kiba rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"You took. The last. Piece."

On either side of him, Ino and Shikamaru took hold of his arms, giving the rest of Team Kurenai apologetic looks.

"It's ok," Ino hurried to say, "he won't _really _kill you, alright? He'll just kick you around for a bit once we get out of here. You'll be fine, I promise!"

"Ch. Troublesome."

Kiba gulped audibly, and his stomach suddenly regretted its existence. He sat back slowly on his knees, and Hinata put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"It's ok, Kiba-kun," she soothed, "I'll be sure to heal you. I mean, I'm not that good but I think I can try…"

"I cannot perform iryounin-jutsu, but I will bandage your injuries. Nevertheless, I would advise coming to me instead," Shino advised, "why? Because if you leave it to her your organs may not remain in their correct positions."

Kiba gulped again, feeling the general tension of the small room rise. Hinata frowned and reddened slightly, knowing that to be true. She'd tried her hand at iryou-ninjutsu, but all the fishes kept dying and she hadn't had the heart to kill any more. Neji nii-san told her to stick with Jyuuken; the Hyuga were never known to be iryounin.

Sitting at the edge of the table together, the two jonin-sensei watched their students. Asuma was sitting back against the wall with a cigarette in his fingers, angling his head so that the waiters wouldn't see him smoking in the restaurant. A quick futon jutsu would get rid of the smell later on. Beside him, Kurenai was leaning her chin into her hands, watching Hinata and Kiba with a slight smile on her face.

"This was nice," she spoke up, "we should do this more often." Her small, empty plate lay on the table nearby.

Asuma coughed, and it sounded slightly like 'then you pay next time.' His wallet suffered enough from having an Akimichi on his team, he didn't need his lover adding her students into the mix as well. But one look at Kurenai's beautiful eyes never failed to convince him that he was the richest person alive.

Ino was eyeing them coyly, remembering the flowers her sensei had bought earlier. Shikamaru, who had already spotted the small box Asuma had been toying with for the past week, was leaning back lazily against the wall. That box hadn't left his pocket yet, although its outline was still visible against the material of his pants. Sarutobi Asuma was a worthy shinobi, but he was also a real worrier.

"-not fair! One dinner should do it!" Kiba was yelling, "I only took one piece!"

"It was the _last _piece," Chouji replied sagely, "it's worth ten times as much as the others. That means you owe me at least five dinners."

"Go easy on the kid," Asuma joked, "he didn't know. Remember that time when we first went to dinner, and Ino stole your last piece?"

"Hah!" The blond girl proudly flipped her long hair over her shoulder, "I held my ground! No offense, Chouji, but there's no way I was going to break my wallet buying you dinner."

"That was a bad month," Shikamaru winced, remembering their training sessions, "a very bad, troublesome month."

"So why can't _I_ hold my ground?" Kiba whined, "why do _I _have to break my wallet?"

Ino sighed, "because _I've _been his friend since we were little kids, and he went easy on me," she explained.

Chouji nodded, "it's hard to be mad at Ino for too long. She's too nice."

"_You're _too nice," Shikamaru muttered.

"But you're on your own, Kiba," Chouji narrowed his eyes.

"Why don't we meet here again tomorrow?" Kurenai suggested lightly, leaning forward on the table, "I'll pay, I think Asuma's been drained enough."

"No, no!" Asuma rushed to protest, waving his hands, "it's alright, I'll pay." _Stupid, traitorous mouth. There goes my next mission's pay. _The small box in his pocket seemed to dig into his leg.

At that moment, the window behind them was pushed open. Everyone present was on full guard as their heads turned to see a black-clad anbu member balanced on the windowsill.

"Is it an emergency?" Kurenai asked sharply, fingering the senbon hidden in her kunoichi outfit.

"No, nothing like that," the anbu Firefly shook her head, "it's just a message that I've been instructed to deliver by Sandaime-sama."

Asuma frowned, "what did my father say?" He had always regarded the old man as practically indestructible, so he wasn't too worried.

Firely paused, still balanced on the edge of the window, "well, I'm not sure if I'm actually supposed to tell you this," she admitted, "I believe that Sandaime-sama did not think he would return, when he gave that order, and he is not allowed visitors in the hospital so I cannot confirm it…"

Kurenai frowned. The Hokage hadn't expected to return from his mission? "Tell us," she asked, "something like that must be important."

"It's an informal message for Asuma-san," Firefly told them. Somehow, her voice indicated that she was grinning under the mask. Even the anbu had to have some fun now and then. "Sandaime-sama would like me to inform you that he approves of Kurenai-san."

For a while, there was silence in the small room. Firefly stayed on the window, waiting for her dismissal.

"Message…received," Asuma stuttered, watching in relief as the figure shunshined away. Then he turned back to regard the six curious faces with dread. Mouths had dropped.

"It's out. Troublesome."

"Now that I think of it, Asuma-sensei, you should've gotten _red_ roses instead of pink. Red would be better for long-term commitment."

"Asuma-sensei…is _with _Kurenai-sensei?"

"You're such an idiot, Chouji, it was obvious. She came back smelling like him every Saturday. I mean, I thought they were just hanging out, but I guess that scent was a little too strong for that…"

"K-Kurenai-sensei? Is t-this true?"

"I knew it. Why? Because her lipstick was smudged. On him. It's still there, actually. You can see it on his collar if you look."

Asuma self-consciously reached up to rub vigorously at his neck, hoping the mysterious lipstick stains would disappear. The he turned to slowly look at Kurenai, who was giving him a mischievous smile.

"Oi! No time to hesitate now, sensei," Ino called, cupping her hands around her mouth as if she wasn't loud _enough._ "If you order within the next week, I'll give you a discount on red roses."

He groaned. Trust Ino to make an awkward situation worse.

"Ch. If they have children, I'm staying away until their kids are five. Babies are so troublesome."

No, scratch that. Shikamaru was _much _worse.

"If she and Asuma-sensei get married, will they still take us with them for dinner, or will they go by themselves? Because then we won't get to eat barbeque every week, and I don't think we can sacrifice something as important as that just for sensei's happiness," Chouji spoke up seriously.

…And Chouji might just be the worst one out of them all. At this point, his cigarette had fallen out of his fingers and was on the floor somewhere. Along with his dignity.

Kurenai was giving him a soft, encouraging smile while her three students looked on. With an inward groan, Asuma stumbled to slip his knees out from under the table and face her. He inserted a hand into his back pocket and drew out the small box he'd picked out about a week ago.

"Yuuhi Kurenai, I've…known you for a long while now. We became friends when we first saw each other in the academy, and since then I've thought of you as an amazing woman and a talented kunoichi."

She was still smiling that gentle smile. He wanted to go on with his mentally prepared speech about their relationship…but some of that wouldn't be too appropriate in front of their students. Well, that could wait for the bedroom later that night.

"Kurenai…will you marry me?"

Ino awe-ed and Kiba was silently hoping his sensei would say no. Just for the drama. Drama was fun. It wasn't like _he _liked her or anything. She was really pretty, but he'd successfully beat the sense into his brain and told himself that she was about fourteen years older.

The jonin sitting opposite him smiled her unreadable smile, "well, how could I refuse the recommendation of Sandaime-sama himself?" She smiled, "yes, Asuma. You take too long for these things. If you had waited any longer I would looked much too large in our engagement pictures." Shinobi didn't usually have the large marriage festivities that the civilians liked to have, but she already had plans for a small reception whirring in her head.

When the younger occupants of the room realized what she had said, mouths dropped once again.

ooooo

Many days later in Kumo, Utakata, B, Yugito, and Hotaru stood in the Raikage's office. A looked and each of them in turn. This time, even B shook with slight fear. His brother hadn't glared, yelled, _or _broken anything yet, and that alone was scary. Finally, A's eyes came to rest on the newest person B had brought back with him.

"Alright," the Raikage began, eyeing Hotaru contemplatively, "how many tails does this one have?"

ooooo

With her cheerfulness and undying determination, Hotaru had a way of making everyone fall in love with her. Even though they had stressed that no, she was _not _a Jinchuuriki, and no, she wasn't even an incredibly powerful young prodigy. As such, Utakata and B had no trouble getting her an official position as a genin of Kumo, to be personally tutored by a Kumo jonin-sensei along with her studies under her shishou and her enka lessons under Killer B that everyone groaned about.

In class, Hotaru spent all her time explaining to her jonin-instructor how amazing her shishou was in grandiose detail. By the second week of class, the poor Kumo jonin was convinced that Utakata was some kind of god.

Rumors spread quickly in Kumo. By his third week back in Kumo, Utakata was standing beside Yugito outside the Raikage's office building. Before them stood a line of Kumo jonin, all clapping and smiling. He still wasn't sure what the strange badge he had been given _meant _exactly. When the small crowd left, he followed Yugito into the shinobi headquarters, and into the small room she'd been given for her own use for the purpose of briefing her subordinates.

"I have a question," he began, watching as the blond kunoichi shrugged out of her flak jacket and hung it on a hook. On the bench nearby was a pile of her clothing. Civilian clothing.

"What is it?" She asked, undoing her braid, "we have to leave for our mission in two hours. I would suggest you leave and get changed into your civilian attire quickly. Darui-san requires us to be in disguise for this escort."

"What just happened to me?" Utakata asked blankly, "out there, in that small ceremony."

She gave him a dry look.

"I'm serious," he went on, "when I woke up this morning, I received a message to be outside the Raikage's office in five hours. You were there when I arrived, and all they did was tell me what a loyal jonin I was. And then they mentioned something about a force and gave me a badge," he looked down at the small blue patch on his flak jacket, "what is this?"

"Do you not read your letters?" She asked.

He shook his head. Hotaru usually read through them for him when she came over for morning training, although it wasn't 'reading' so much as 'browsing through the first lines'. Most of them were just mass-released updates given to all the Kumo jonin, because the Raikage thought it was terribly important that everything was aware when B was having one of his enka concerts. He'd taken to humoring his brother to make sure B never left again.

Yugito sighed, running a hand through her long hair, "turn around," she instructed, "the others have probably changed already, and we're going to be late."

Utakata did so. He heard the rustle of cloth behind him.

"The Kinkaku Force," she began, "is a team of Kumo's strongest jonin, put together by the approval of the Raikage himself. In times of war or emergency, they take control of Kumo's chunin and jonin. With unanimous vote, they have veto power over the Council."

"I see," Utakata trailed, "and…I'm part of this team, now?" He fingered the badge, noting the tiny script that did, indeed, say 'Kinkaku'.

"Yes," Yugito replied, "you have officially been made a member of the Kumo Kinkaku Force. Be proud, it's quite the accomplishment." Another rustle of cloth sounded as she slipped on the civilian clothing for their mission, "you can turn around now."

"And why were you there?" Utakata asked, "were you made a member too?" He turned around, and raised an eyebrow at her attire. She was wearing a plain blue dress, similar to those the civilian women thought were fashionable. Nii Yugito was wearing a dress. His eyebrows remained raised.

"I've been a member for over a year," she told him, crossing her arms and looking slightly perturbed at his staring. Her kunoichi clothing lay in a heap on the bench. She walked over. "I was there because I was the one who nominated you."

He looked slightly surprised, "you can do that, Yugito?" He was vaguely aware that she met frequently with the Raikage and Darui and Killer B, but her exact title never came up.

"Of course," she said smoothly, "as of two weeks ago, I'm the captain of the Kinkaku Force."

ooooo

"Congratulations!"

Temari burst into the Kazekage's office, looking ecstatic. She dropped her large fan by the entrance and sat in a chair in front of the desk, looking proudly at the person sitting behind it. "I rushed back from the mission when I heard. I think my teammates all dropped from exhaustion on the way."

"It was only a matter of time," Gaara replied from where he was sitting calmly, writing a letter, "but I find my schedule is becoming busier."

"Of course." Temari leaned forward, recording a mental image of her little brother wearing the Kazekage's hat and Kazekage's robes, sitting behind the Kazekage's desk and becoming the Rokudaime Kazekage of Sunagakure. The image was coated over with a sheen of pride. "I think you're the youngest Kage in history, Gaara. Suna has a sixteen-year-old kage. Wow."

The red-haired boy looked up, peering beyond the edge of his hat, "such a thing does not lend support to the strength of our country, Temari. In fact, it hints at the opposite. If I were a citizen of a larger village such as Kumo, it would not have been so easy for me to gain kage status. But Suna is still small and our shinobi training systems are not nearly as effective. We do not have many strong shinobi."

"You're too humble," Temari grinned, "just leave the training to me. I started our small academy all those years ago, but if I had a little more funding I could have an actual school built. We could begin shinobi education at five, like Kiri does."

Gaara nodded. He slipped a hand into his desk, easily slipping back into the familiar actions of Suna's Kazekage. It had been a while, but this position was too well ingrained in his mind, too much a part of him. It was what he had always defined himself as, and returning to it was like entering a childhood home and smiling in recognition at every familiar trinket that lay around.

He drew out a sheet of paper, and scribbled down a few subheadings. Then he held it out to Temari, who took it and peered at it curiously.

"It's a funding statement," he explained, "fill it out with whatever amount you need. You'll have it. I wish to place importance on education," he frowned, "I have to meet Matsuri for training, soon. Unfortunately it takes up much of my consulting time."

His sister looked confused, "what, you're still going to train Matsuri-chan? But you're a Kazekage now, you don't have time for that!"

"Tsunade-sama is able to keep a student," Gaara replied stiffly, "I am aware that she is far more experienced, but it is also true that I have many more hours to spend in the day." Even now that Shukaku was gone, he needed minimal sleep. In his previous time, he had been amused at stories of the Kazekage being non-human after the citizens would see the lights of his office shine all through the night.

"Well, alright," Temari sat back in the chair, folding the sheet, "you're strange, Gaara. Many people in your position would want a strong student to succeed them. You plan to dedicate so much time to a new genin who'll probably never make jonin, no matter how nice she is. But that's part of what the people like about you, after all, so you must be doing something right."

Gaara looked back down to his letter, and continued writing in his neat script. A small smile tugged at his lips.

ooooo

"Why did we have to do this at night? There are snakes in these grasses and they are not the harmless kind."

Orochimaru stood beside his former teammate and new Hokage, eyeing the small memorial stone that had been erected at the edge of the village. It was placed amongst the grasses above the Hokage sculptures, where it could look down over Konohagakure in its entirety. The name had been carved into it in a beautiful script that he suspected belonged to Shizune.

"Interesting thing for you to say," Tsunade said dryly, although he had to squint to see her pensive expression in the darkness, "and did you _want _someone to see you?" He'd rented out a small apartment next to the Sarutobi grounds with his S-rank pay. The place was barely occupied; he spent all his time in the labs underneath the Hokage's tower pouring over scrolls that had been tossed down as national treasures no one bothered to read, looking for any hint, _something _that would help him in the weighty project he'd taken on.

"Besides," she went on, "I can't get any free time during the day. They keep giving me paperwork." She wrinkled her nose.

Orochimaru stayed silent, simply realizing that this was as close to the position that he would get. There had been a time where he would have reveled in that paperwork, eagerly and diligently reading through everything addressed to the Hokage. He suspected he'd have to do that anyway, since Tsunade didn't _do _paperwork, and it was only a matter of time until she decided he looked like a good replacement for Shizune.

He gazed down at the bin of carefully arranged files he was carrying, "and why," he asked, "did you ask me to bring the off-duty shinobi mission files with us?"

Tsunade smirked, and inserted one, manicured hand into the stacks of the bin. When she drew it out, it held a small white bottle. "This is where sensei hides his stock," she explained, shaking the bottle proudly. The liquid inside clinked against the clay. "I guess even he wasn't perfectly tuned to the stress of being a Hokage. I've been trying to limit myself, though. At least until Sakura's next birthday, his hidden stores are all I can get my hands on. Shizune won't bring me any, and she's issued a notice to every place selling sake that I can't order it."

"That poor chunin girl," he observed dryly, setting the bin down on the grass, "she's going to regret becoming your student. At least I gave mine a _choice _in breaking the law."

But Tsunade simply smiled and took three small cups out of her pocket, setting them on the grey stone. They were pale in the moonlight.

He watched as she opened the bottle of sake and carefully tipped some into each cup, making sure the sake never sloshed even though his keen eye noted the occasional tremor in her hand. She set the bottle near the stone, and picked up two of the cups, holding one out to him without looking his way.

Orochimaru eyed the small cup apprehensively and made no move to take it, "I do not drink sake. Large quantities can harm the nerves of my Fushi Tensei."

"I don't care about your Fushi Tensei. Drink it." Tsunade deadpanned, pushing it into his reluctant hands. He watched her gulp her own cup down before sighing and bringing it to his lips.

"Such a pointless tradition," he winced at the horrid taste, "and such a pointless drink."

Tsunade ignored him. Her hand moved to take the rest of the bottle back, but she paused, and instead decided to let it remain standing on that small grey stone, right beside the carved name. He could see her grin in the faint light filtering through dim clouds.

"He can have that one," she said airily, "I still have two more, I think. I'll have to do a more thorough search of the office when I have some free time. And anyway, even though he berated me for it we both know he loved sake too."

"He did," Orochimaru agreed, "but only because it helped with attracting girls," he sighed, "a drinker and a porn-writer. Such interesting people my teammates have grown up to be."

Tsunade smiled again, because Orochimaru was Orochimaru and she could hear the consolation in his tone anyway. She looked back down at the third cup of sake, and the clear liquid that rippled gently in the nighttime breeze.

ooooo

"SHANNARO!"

The first thing Naruto felt was a searing pain in his cheek, and before he knew it he was sliding down the wall of Kakashi's extra bedroom. He groaned and clutched his bruised cheek, forcing his eyes open to see the pink-haired monster slowly walking towards him. Her right hand was tightly fisted.

"S-Sakura-chan?"

"I can't believe this!" Haruno Sakura yelled, "you're leading your very first mission today, and you're _sleeping in_? Baka!"

Naruto paused, feeling a vague sense of dread creep up inside him. Memories of a mission briefing flashed by, and his eyes flew to look at the calendar on the wall. Then he stumbled to his feet and headed for the small alarm clock on his bedside table.

It wasn't set. He'd forgotten to set it.

He gulped audibly, and then turned to her, "um…it's ok, Sakura-chan. We'll just have to finish the mission extra-early, right? Right?" Sakura looked completely unimpressed.

"Ch. At this rate you'll never make jonin."

Naruto groaned again and reluctantly turned to look at his open window. Sasuke sat on the windowsill, swinging his legs into the room. He looked around, and then down at the bed, raising an eyebrow.

"Ramen, dobe? Really?"

"Oi! I like those sheets!" It had taken a whole lot of begging before Kakashi-sensei had relented and allowed him to change some of the stardard-issue furniture in the room. Naruto liked his new bed sheets just fine, ramen-cup decorations included.

He stood up and straightened his panda-bear sleeping cap, trying to ignore how his cheek pulsed with pain. "So…um…just hold on while I get something to eat…"

"You don't have _time _to eat," Sakura fumed, "and with the speed we'll need to travel at, it'll all come back out anyway." She crossed her arms over her chest, giving him one of her best glares.

At that moment, the door to Naruto's room swung open, and a grey-haired head peeked in lazily. Upon seeing the two other occupants, Kakashi stepped into the room, giving them a small wave.

"Yo."

Sakura and Sasuke stared.

Kakashi rubbed his head sheepishly, "mou…what's wrong?"

"You're not wearing your mask," Sakura said said carefully, because he wasn't. "I thought you slept in it."

"Well, there's no point wearing it in my own home anymore," Kakashi shrugged, "and you three have seen it already anyway." His voice was light, but the other members of Team Seven could hear the resolve in his tone.

"The dobe's late for his mission," Sasuke informed him, "you know, the one he's supposed to be _leading. _The _easy _A-rank Tsunade-sama gave him because she felt _sorry _for him being stuck as a chunin. While everyone else in Team Seven has advanced. Sai's waiting at the gates."

Kakashi frowned and turned back to Naruto, who was pulling his orange jumpsuit from a hanger in the closet, "you know, responsibility is part of being a jonin. It's not only about how strong you are."

"Yeah, I know," Naruto muttered, "I'll be really responsible. I'm going to become Hokage one day, after all, and the Hokage _has _to be responsible." He slipped behind the closet door and they all heard the rustle of cloth. The panda-bear sleeping cap went flying as he threw it to the bed.

"I fear for Konoha," Sasuke muttered, eyeing the worn-out cap that was laying among the sheets.

"Sasuke, where's the bird?" Kakashi asked while they waited for their new failure of a taicho to change out of his pajamas. "How will you feed it when you go on missions?"

"It's off, somewhere," the Uchiha boy shrugged, "it flies off sometimes, and finds its own food. Good riddance. But you don't need to worry," he went on at Sakura's frown, "the stupid thing comes back at least once every two days to bite my fingers."

"I'm glad," Sakura smiled warmly, because she knew that the bird – stupid as he called it – made him smile sometimes. "We'll be going then, Kakashi-sensei. Maybe you'll want to put your mask back on. Yamato-senpai is coming by later on."

Naruto walked out from behind the closet door, dressed in full orange gear. "Um…let's go, then! The first mission I lead has to be awesome!" He pretended not to notice the bruise on his cheek, but winced when he tried to smile.

Sakura sighed, and held a hand out, "come here, I'll fix that. Maybe I was a little too hard." She held back a giggle.

At that, he promptly made to walk across to where she was sitting. But there was a strange tugging sensation along his leg when he tried to move, and he stopped immediately, looking down at himself.

"Maybe you'd find it easier to move if your pants weren't on backwards," Kakashi offered helpfully.

Laughter filled the small room, and for some reason Naruto couldn't find it in him to protest.

**ooooo**

**Some say that a story must end in a wedding or a funeral. We decided to end with both. **

**The first chapter of Lightning Speed is posted. ****LS will deal with the final issues, and will probably be better written style-wise (most of TRT is unedited due to our quick updates. LS will be slower, but I promise you much better writing). I (MKani) will be writing most of it. A few of you wondered about our writing, so if you want some sort of indication of our styles; I wrote the second-last scene of this chapter while INK wrote the third-last and the last scenes. They're very similar, but there are some minor differences that you might notice (^^).**

**Also, check out my alternate account 'Riya3'. I write pairings on that one :P**

**We hope you've enjoyed, and that you'll stick with Naruto (and anime in general) 'till you're old and grey :D**

**Link to continuation: s/9786209/1/Lightning-Speed (if you can't copy/paste, just find it on my profile)**

**Review ^^!**


	53. Continuation: 'Lightning Speed' posted

Don't mind this, it's just a notice. It'll be taken down in a few days (^^)

Summary of LS: "When the Obito who activated the time seal finally appears, Konan is forced to reveal vital information about the trigger. Meanwhile, the Rinnegan eyes rest in a seal around the Godaime's neck, and Naruto is sent on a mission to Ame. A continuation of The Resilience of Time."


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